Eric was born in Reading and after leaving school, worked in a camera factory. The factory was a reserved occupation and subcontracted to the Royal Air Force where Eric undertook precision work making gun cameras for fighter planes. At the weekend he was part of the Caversham home guard and recalls having little free time as a young man. After four years working at the factory, Eric volunteered as a Seaman in the Royal Navy, training at HMS Royal Arthur in Skegness, first as a telegraphist air gunner and then as a wire man. From there he went to the Coastal Forces base HMS Saint Christopher in Fort William Scotland. He was trained on motor launches and torpedo boats and passed a gunnery course. Eric joined HMS Forward Newhaven (Coastal Forces Maintenance Unit 1) for training, camped at the stone frigate HMS Collingwood and then went straight to Gold Beach, an allied area of German occupied France. Once there, he dug trenches in Arromanche Normandy and sea patrolled Mulberry Harbour, temporary piers built by the British. After leaving Normandy Eric went to Italy, mine sweeping with coastal forces. Eric describes his experiences working with important figures such as Admiral Ramsey, Captain Peter Scott and Field Marshal “Monty” Montgomery, the pressures these men were under and their different ways of working. He also reflects on choosing to focus on the good times after returning home.

Catherine Avent recounts her memories of going from a university undergraduate to a beloved admin officer in charge of a one of a kind navy unit. Despite not having a naval background her romanticisation of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) spurred her to join, her naval experiences shaping the rest of her life.   Catherine’s training involved tracking Morse code and sending out warnings on the occasion of interruptions, a vital task reserved for her unit to complete. Being promoted to admin officer came with a steep learning curve due to her new found responsibilities but by the end of her naval career she left well loved by her unit. The interview highlights how accidentally lowering her unit’s morale early in her career deeply affected her, causing her goal to leave the navy having done more good than bad. She knew how lonely and boring being a part of the WRNS could be so frequently took her people to the cinema to keep them happy. Catherine felt a great responsibility to protect her unit, especially during bombings and she left the navy being very proud of them all for surviving and proud of herself for achieving her goal. 

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.