Eric was born in Reading and after leaving school, worked in a camera factory. The factory was a reserved occupation and subcontracted to the Royal Air Force where Eric undertook precision work making gun cameras for fighter planes. At the weekend he was part of the Caversham home guard and recalls having little free time as a young man. After four years working at the factory, Eric volunteered as a Seaman in the Royal Navy, training at HMS Royal Arthur in Skegness, first as a telegraphist air gunner and then as a wire man. From there he went to the Coastal Forces base HMS Saint Christopher in Fort William Scotland. He was trained on motor launches and torpedo boats and passed a gunnery course. Eric joined HMS Forward Newhaven (Coastal Forces Maintenance Unit 1) for training, camped at the stone frigate HMS Collingwood and then went straight to Gold Beach, an allied area of German occupied France. Once there, he dug trenches in Arromanche Normandy and sea patrolled Mulberry Harbour, temporary piers built by the British. After leaving Normandy Eric went to Italy, mine sweeping with coastal forces. Eric describes his experiences working with important figures such as Admiral Ramsey, Captain Peter Scott and Field Marshal “Monty” Montgomery, the pressures these men were under and their different ways of working. He also reflects on choosing to focus on the good times after returning home.

Spurred by the looming threat of D-Day, Nick Rumble married in May 1944, just one month before he would find himself amidst the chaos of the invasion.    On board the Anthony Enright, a Merchant Navy ship, Nick and his crew set sail on the 5th of June in total darkness. As dawn broke over Normandy, the sight of Allied traffic was unmissable, from jeeps to fellow troops, as was the unfortunate display of dead bodies floating in the water.  Although he wasn’t frightened, Nick recalls his time in Normandy as being very tense. As a Royal Navy gunner, he had the responsibility of shooting down enemy crafts, having to concentrate through the intense noise of surrounding gunfire from other much bigger and more powerful Naval ships.  Using an Oerlikon gun, Nick’s first attempt at shooting down an enemy plane seemed successful, much to the delight of his fellow crew members. His victory, however, was short-lived, after discovering that he had only managed to shoot down a balloon on the side of another ship. 

Born in 1931, Ronald George Yardley faced the hardships of wartime as a child. At 18, he joined the Navy, trained for six weeks at HMS Royal Arthur, and became a Wireless Telegraphist. He later served on HMS Belfast and was deployed to Korea. Ron remembers the immense cold as they journeyed closer to Korea, travelling through frozen seas. When the Belfast arrived in Korea the bombardment and involvement in the war started immediately. He remembers a sad moment when the ship’s water pipes burst after being hit by enemy fire, scalding a soldier to death. Ron also recalls two marines who died on a mission, their bodies never recovered. Ron recounts a heartfelt moment when a young orphan from his mess deck, who never received letters, asked if Ron could read some of his own to help him feel connected to life back home. After leaving HMS Belfast, Ron was posted to HMS Royal Prince in Germany, where he carried out exercises on Hermann Goering’s luxury yacht. He remains deeply thankful to the South Koreans for funding the National Korean War Memorial, a place he proudly takes his grandchildren to.