In 1942, Fred undertook 16 weeks of infantry training in Reading, joining the fifth battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment. He was first sent to Marlborough in Suffolk to undertake beach defence, but after the Germans did not land there, he was reassigned to Scotland to train in a beach group for the Normandy landings alongside a Canadian division. He trained in small assault craft out to sea and undertook extensive training in handling different cargo and rope tying, becoming an experienced stevedore, a loader and unloader of ships. Fred was next stationed near Waterlooville for further training, before going to Southampton Number 1 dock to sail for Normandy with many other ships. He describes being caught in a storm and sheltering in Calshot before being allowed to leave the harbour. Fred describes the chaos and noise of the gun battles and shell fire of the Normandy landings. Whilst there he manned a Bren gun that he was proud to have never left during Operation Overlord. Fred unloaded thousands upon thousands of cargo, including barbed wire, rations and other essential supplies, sometimes standing in four foot of water. At the same time, he was also helped to move prisoners, casualties and many bodies from the beach after joining the Forth Wiltshire Regiments platoon. Fred describes being wounded and the nightmares he suffered with but also reflects on the importance of his regiment mates for team moral during and after the war.  

George describes his WWII childhood in Cornwall, leaving school at 14 and working as an apprentice for the General Post Office (GPO). Conscripted into the army’s Royal Corps of Signals aged 19, he remembers training camp instructors’ hostility and his lasting camaraderie with trainees from all backgrounds. He recalls seeing other countries and nationalities for the first time during his 28-day journey to Korea, becoming emotional while reflecting upon his arrival in Pusan, where he saw refugees facing extreme poverty and the ravages of war. As a wireless operator, George drove reconnaissance vehicles around the Imjin River. At night, he scraped sleeping holes into hillsides or slept under the stars, always missing home but never frightened. He conveys the stench of war, the whistling of shell fire overhead, the suffocating heat of the dusty summer and the sometimes-fatal blistering winter cold. He reminisces fondly about the Korean nation and the feeling of returning home to Penzance. George’s depiction of wartime smells, sights and sounds show the enduring intensity of veterans’ memories even decades later. His interview highlights how, for some, deployment was the adventure of a lifetime that took them to otherwise inaccessible corners of the world.

Janet began her journey with the WRAC in the early 1970s and knew on arrival that it was the right career for her. Although she initially found life at Guildford a bit of shock, by the time she had finished her trade training with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, she felt like a soldier. She describes her first posting to Rheindahlen where aside from working on classified clerical work, she embarked on many trips to surrounding cities and landscapes. Janet also recalls the rising threat of Eastern Germany, and her own exposure to the realities of the Cold War. After Germany she was posted to Beaconsfield, Krefeld and Deepcut where she became chief clerk of the WRAC company in 1976. Although this was a great achievement, Janet remembers still feeling outnumbered by men in the army and experiencing gender discrimination even at her rank. The rest of the interview follows her journey to London, back to Rheindahlen, and finally becoming quartermaster at Aldershot where she campaigned for contraceptive machines in the women's blocks. A fantastic interview and a true trailblazer, we thank Janet for her inspiring story of the frustrations, limitations and power of women in the army.