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A veteran interview with

Alan King

Alan King served with the East Riding Yeomanry as a Radio Operator. He recalls scenes of chaos.

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About Alan King

Alan King shares the reality of the D-Day landings: chaos, carnage, noise, and confusion.

Alan, a radio operator in the East Riding Yeomanry, tells of the storm in June 1944 that delayed the D-Day landings, and the chaos he witnessed as a young, inexperienced soldier landing on the Normandy beach of Luc-sur-Mer. He recounts crawling up the beach under a barrage of enemy fire, the tremendous noise, the carnage all around, and the death of his commanding officer, leaving them without direction.

He recalls his involvement in the Battle of Goodwood, part of the larger battle for Caen, and tells how his crew commander died in his arms.

Alan’s interview captures the horror and the unknown that many young men bravely faced. He witnessed people ‘dying all around’ but keeps the memory of his lost friends alive through regular trips to Normandy to visit their graves.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Brig. C Elderton
Reviewed by:
Joan Turner

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Home | Veterans | Alan King

A veteran interview with

Alan King

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Alan King served with the East Riding Yeomanry as a Radio Operator. He recalls scenes of chaos.

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https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-king/

Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
King, Alan. A Veteran Interview with Alan King. Interview by Brig. C Elderton. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-king/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
APA Style:
King, A. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Alan King [Interview by Brig. C Elderton]. Legasee. Retrieved March 22, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-king/
Chicago Style:
King, Alan. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Alan King. Interview by Brig. C Elderton. Legasee. Accessed March 22, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-king/
Harvard Style:
King, A. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Alan King. [Interviewed by Brig. C Elderton]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-king/ (Accessed: 22 March 2025)
Vancouver Style:
King, A. A Veteran Interview with Alan King [Internet]. Interview by B. Elderton. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2025 Mar 22]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-king/
An interview with

Judy Hasnip

Judy was deployed to Aden when she served with the WRAC.

In this interview Judy recalls joining the WRAC as a way to begin her career and move out of her family home. Judy completed her initial basic training at Lingfield, which was the predecessor of Guildford, before she was posted to Worthy Down to specialise as a pay clerk in the Royal Army Pay Corps. Reflecting on her training, Judy remembers being amazed at how quickly she transformed from a young girl into an adult woman. She also describes the experience of working with fast-changing technology, and how later in her life she realised how instrumental her work in data processing became with the arrival of the first computerised consensus. Later, Judy was posted to Aden and remembers the excitement of flying over the pyramids. Here she was taken to the Singapore lines where she worked with the binary code. When asked to reflect on the WRAC, Judy felt frustrated by the lack of options made available to women at the time but also extremely proud of the work she had done.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Jane Fountain

Jane Fountain served in the Royal Military Police regiment of the WRAC as a Provo.

Jane knew she wanted to join the Royal Military Police, and although she disliked the uniform, enjoyed the many opportunities to learn and improve. After completing her specialised trade training and NBC practices, Jane was first posted to Berlin where she worked on check points and interacted with Russians at the border. Jane recalls the threat of nuclear warfare and the shared realisation amongst soldiers that there would not have been enough reserves for them to all have survived more than a few days. She was then posted to Northern Ireland, firstly to Aldergrove and then Portadown. Jane then returned to Berlin years later, where even as a sergeant she struggled with misogyny in the officer's mess. Jane faced repeated issues with gender discrimination and was taken to trail, but won her case and moved to Ireland with her husband to escape the misogynistic environment in Münster. Jane felt strongly that the WRAC shouldn't have been disbanded. She didn't, and still doesn't, like the idea of women being under a male hierarchy and in her interview maintains that she made the right decision to leave when the WRAC was dissolved.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Lieann Andrew

Lieann served in the WRAC whilst she was pregnant. There is a mother's room named after her in Worthy Down.

At only seventeen years of age, Lieann joined the WRAC so she could travel and see the world. Lieann describes working hard at Guildford and her amazement at the rate in which young women transformed into soldiers within only six weeks. After excelling in her aptitude tests she was posted to Catterick to train as a data telegraphist. Lieann discusses developments in technology and the transition to computers in 1989. She also describes the introduction of weapons training across WRAC trades, and how she could feel the change happening within the female corps. During her time in communications, Lieann was posted to the nuclear bunker in Wilton and recalls the enhanced security measures in place during Cold War exercises. She was then posted to the Falklands and later Cyprus where she re-badged with the Royal Signals. At this point the WRAC had been disbanded and Lieann permanently signed on to the ninth Signal Regiment. During her time in Cyprus she fell pregnant and continued to serve until her last few weeks. She was one of the first women to serve in the army whilst pregnant, and although this marked an important moment in military history - Lieann describes the lack of emotional, financial and even uniform support offered to her during her pregnancy. A woman who truly pushed boundaries, we thank Lieann for her brilliant interview and her candour surrounding women's experiences within the WRAC.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker