Pete Dunning shares with us his journey from being a bored pub worker in Wallesey to a medically discharged ‘meaningful Marine’ after being posted to Afghanistan twice with the Armoured Support Company during the mid-2000s. Pete recounts his gruelling training for the Royal Marines and how ‘exhilarating and exciting’ it was to operate the Viking armoured vehicles during his two tours in Afghanistan. In May 2008, Pete was involved in an incident where the vehicle he was travelling in hit an IED, resulting in the amputation of both of Pete’s legs. He spent over seven weeks at Selly Oak Hospital where he underwent surgery on his spine and received skin grafts for his severe burns before being sent to Hedley Court for rehabilitation. Pete talks about his ‘stubbornness to get back up from this’, and it was his sheer determination that helped him walk again. Despite opting for medical discharge from the Royal Marines just short of five years of service, he is now focused on watching his young family grow and thrive. His account of the incident and the changes it brought to his life is inspirational. A story of great determination to adapt to a life post-injury.

18-year-old John Woodward followed in the footsteps of his father, uncle and grandfather by enlisting in the Royal Navy in 1942, keen to join the fight and do his bit for the war effort. His original intention was to become a signaller but when he was found to be colour blind, he was transferred to the minesweepers and based on the Isle of Sheppey at Queenborough Pier. John shares details of his early training and his role onboard the minesweeper, and recounts a particularly inspired yet risky manoeuvre ordered by the ship’s captain when the Germans’ mine-laying tactics had become a little too predictable. As well as providing details about the types of mines deployed by the Germans and how his minesweeper dislodged them, John also recalls both the build-up to D-Day and the actual event itself, before going on to talk about VE Day and his memories of the occasion. Like his peers, John shares his story with remarkable modesty, but it is easy to find behind his words the bravery, commitment and dedication with which he served, and which will form the heart of his legacy for many years to come.

George enlisted in the navy at fifteen and war broke out three months later. When news came of British ships being sunk with fellow recruits on board he realised that he was just a cog in the wheel and there was a long struggle ahead. Aged sixteen he was serving on HMS Devonshire, patrolling the Indian Ocean. Shortly after leaving Freetown news came of the German battleship Bismarck and escorts breaking out into the Atlantic and they were ordered to head north. A British convoy was under threat and Devonshire was part of a large force assembled to hunt the enemy. During the battle George and his comrades could hear the German 15-inch shells flying overhead. After hours of pounding from the Royal Navy the Bismarck’s big guns were silent and the Devonshire closed in and finished the German ship with torpedoes. Some survivors were rescued but they had to leave the area due to reported U-boats, although they left behind all their life rafts for the survivors. A few months later after weeks at sea they were escorting convoys in the Far East. After leaving Colombo with their sister ship HMS Cornwall they were attacked by Japanese dive-bombers from one of the enemy carrier groups. Within ten minutes they had been hit and began to sink, followed shortly by the Cornwall. In the sea they were machine-gunned by Japanese aircraft. After thirty hours, with little food and water under the hot sun, the survivors were rescued by British warships.