Stephen Weall served as a regular officer in the Royal Marines, retiring with the rank of Captain after a career that spanned active service, training, and senior logistical roles. His military life began in 1962, following an unplanned but decisive shift away from the Army and into the Royal Marines, where demanding training gave him both focus and a lasting sense of purpose. Stephen’s first operational deployment was to Aden, a place he recalls initially as relatively calm, before tensions escalated into what became known as the Aden Emergency. As a young troop commander with 45 Commando, he experienced the realities of counter-insurgency operations in some of the harshest terrain of the Radfan Mountains. Life there was basic and exposed: long patrols at altitude, minimal equipment, unreliable radios, and complete reliance on helicopters for water and resupply. Stephen describes this period as “old-fashioned soldiering,” drawing parallels with Victorian frontier warfare, where small units operated independently against lightly armed but resilient tribal fighters. He later took part in operations beyond Aden, including the intervention in East Africa following the mutiny of the Tanganyika Rifles, before returning to the Radfan as the campaign intensified. Despite moments of contact with the enemy, Stephen’s reflections are restrained and thoughtful, focusing less on combat and more on responsibility, leadership, and the realities of command under pressure. Stephen returned to Aden again in 1967, this time as a motor transport officer, during the British withdrawal. It is this period that provokes some of his strongest reflections. He recalls the unease of dismantling a long-standing presence, and the moral discomfort of seeing local employees paid off and left vulnerable as Britain departed. Looking back, Stephen regards Aden as a “forgotten war” — one that lacks clear victory or resolution, but which nonetheless mattered deeply to those who served. For him, its significance lies not in strategy or outcome, but in the professionalism, endurance, and mutual care shown by ordinary servicemen operating in difficult and often thankless circumstances.

In 1942, Jack Webb joined the 70^th young solider battalion Essex regiment, when this disbanded in 1943, he went to the 2^nd 4^th battalion Essex regiment, before finally being press-ganged into the 5^th Berkshire regiment as preparations for the Normandy invasion began. Jack details his involvement in the D-Day invasion; starting with the beach training in Scotland and ending with a firsthand account of landing on Juno beach (Bernieres-Sur-Mer) alongside the 8^th Canadian assault troop. After successfully landing, Jack worked as part of a “dump company”, a regiment tasked with unloading resources to keep troops well supplied. He described the work as valuable, but physically and emotionally demanding. Jack worked at Bernieres until August 1944; he was then transferred to the 5^th Wiltshire Battalion and sent to Vernon, where he was taken as a Prisoner of War and transported to Limburg, he stayed there until he was rescued the following April. Jack considers himself incredibly fortunate to have returned home unscathed “for an unlucky man, I had an awful lot of luck”. Following the war Jack joined the Normandy Veterans Association and has returned to France regularly to visit the graves of his old troop members.