Elizabeth’s first job was at British Airways in Bristol. One of her main responsibilities there involved fire watching, where she had to deal with small fires. After a while, Elizabeth decided to leave her role at British Airways, but as it was a reserved role during the war, it took over a year for her to leave. Following this, Elizabeth moved to London hoping to join the WRNS (Women's Royal Naval Service), but due to there being no vacancies, she ended up joining the FANYs (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry), January 1944. She went on to work in the SOE (Special Operations Executive) organisation in Baker street. Part of her training took her to Cranwell, where she was trained to use teleprinting machines. She remembers going on a trip to Italy with a senior FANY member. The trip there took longer than usual, due to the convoy taking a longer route in order to avoid submarines. Her role in Italy was as a typist, she remembers typing up information for supply drops scheduled to be sent to Yugoslavia and Poland. Elizabeth’s time there came to an end when she injured her back. The journey home was on a hospital ship, a Flying Fortress. The pilot called her to the cockpit, and once in the air, she was tasked with flying the aircraft, whilst the pilot went off to play poker. At some point during the flight, the pilot came back and showed Elizabeth Monte Cassino. She was shocked at the state of the place, it’s something she’ll never forget. After this, she spent some time at the FANY headquarters. Whilst there, Elizabeth learnt of a job opening as a personal assistant for the Australian Military Mission in Berlin. She got the job and went to Berlin, she was shocked at the state of the city. She worked out of a place in Charlottenburg, right next door to a house that was used by the Gestapo. Elizabeth remembers how starved the German civilians were at the time and how upsetting it was.

Zoe Meakin, a military wife and mother, shares her journey of balancing work and family during her husband's military career. After meeting Dallas and getting engaged within a few months, Zoe focused on her career as a midwife while Dallas served in the military, noticing changes in him when he returned from tours. After having two children together, they travelled to various countries with Dallas’ work but later returned to the UK. Dallas changed roles to work in the prison guard service but suffered physical and mental injuries after an incident at work, eventually being diagnosed with severe PTSD. This also affected their children, who no longer recognised their father. Zoe used her NHS role to secure support for her husband and children despite many challenges. Initially not engaging with support that was offered to her as a military wife, Zoe recently connected with the Band of Sisters and attended a well-earned respite weekend. She remains in contact with other military partners she met there who have all been through similar life events. Her inspirational story highlights her dedication to both her family and career as she works hard to get the support her family needs.