Harriet Wight was living in the countryside in North East Scotland at the outbreak of war and recalls seeing an enemy aircraft drop a bomb over Aberdeen. It was then she decided ‘to do her bit’ and joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS). After a medical in Dundee she did her initial basic training at Balloch on the edge of Loch Lomond and began her duties as a messenger. She was eventually posted to Ilfracombe in Devon as a signaller and was involved in taking and logging signals which at that time mainly related to noting casualties from the North African campaign in 1943. Harriet moved on to operating telephone switchboards after a period of training and was posted to Hatston on the Orkneys, close to the vital naval base of Scapa Flow. Harriet spoke of meeting her future husband, who was a sailor involved in Arctic and Atlantic convoys, and how she never concerned about the danger he was in until she found out that an American soldier pen-friend of hers had been killed in Belgium and then the reality of war hit home. Harriet concluded by saying how very proud she was of having been a Wren. 

Ron Smith grew up in an Army family but chose the Royal Marines, earning his green beret after tough commando training. Selected for service in Korea, he was sent to Camp McGill in Japan where, alongside the US Marines, he prepared for daring night raids along the Korean coast. He remembers his first mission vividly, and speaks warmly of his commanding officer, Colonel Drysdale, whom he calls “one of the finest officers I’ve ever met.”

In his interview, Ron shares striking memories: the tension of stealth landings nearly betrayed by barking dogs, the shock of Chinese forces entering the war, and the fierce fighting at the Chosin Reservoir. He recalls the eerie sound of enemy bugles, the trauma of combat, and the shrapnel wound that saw him evacuated to Japan. Later, he rejoined his unit for raids from Wonsan Harbour.

Ron reflects too on everyday encounters: the plight of Korean civilians, the adoption of a local child, and the lasting impact of a conflict often called the “Forgotten War.” Returning decades later, he marvelled at South Korea’s transformation.

Christian Lamb returned from a year in France just before war broke out and quickly joined the Wrens (Women's Royal Naval Service). She was initially employed as a Coder but switched to plotting, which involved plotting the locations of all the ships and planes on a huge board. She served in this role initially in London, then Plymouth and Belfast before returning to southern England in the run-up to D-Day. She relates many light-hearted anecdotes: enjoying lunchtime concerts in the National Gallery when she was working at the Wren Headquarters in Trafalgar Square; experiencing several close encounters with bombings during the blitz; shopping in the Republic of Ireland where there were less restrictions. Throughout the war, she and her colleagues maintained a strong sense of patriotism and determination, inspired by Churchill's speeches. Despite the dangers, they never considered the possibility of losing the war.