At university, Audrey joined the Officer Training Corps which ultimately led her to join the army when she graduated. Due to her experience, Audrey never enrolled in basic training but was instead sent to the WRAC school of instruction. She was then posted to Shoeburyness as a Commander, then Singapore, and then to the new Duchess of Kent Barracks as Commanding Officer. Audrey also discusses growing IRA threats, and recalls the horror of experiencing the Aldershot bombing in 1972. Her career continued to flourish and she went to Army Staff College where she was the only woman out of one hundred men. Audrey proceeded to be posted at Shrewsbury as Senior Personnel Officer, then to the doctorate where she wrote employment papers for the WRAC, then the BAOR, and the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Audrey's work in the WRAC was fundamental to its evolution and she was involved in the crucial integration of weapons training into the female corps. She felt strongly that women should be given opportunities and went on to design the selection tests for officers admittance to Staff College. A true trailblazer, we thank Audrey for her inspiring interview and passionate words about the importance of women's roles in the WRAC.

Ernie was recruited into the army aged just eighteen and began his primary training at the Royal West Kent Regiment in Maidstone. He joined the 7th Armoured Division and the Spearhead Invasion training in anti-tank gunnery. He then joined the 5th RHA (Royal Horse Artillery) as a driver operator and troop leader, and later as an OP Officer (Secondary Forward Observation Officer) training in tanks. Ernie describes being caught in cross channel gun fire at Albert Dock on the Thames whilst he was loading guns aboard his divisions boat. Arriving at the beach near Port au Bessin, Normandy on D-Day, Ernie acted as a relay for the guns, exchanging messages as the chaos of exploding mines and heavy gun fire surrounded him. He then manoeuvred through the difficult Villers Bocage hedgerow landscape encountering German tanks and S.S. Panzers throughout the journey. Ernie remembers the feeling of adrenaline and the fearlessness he had as a young man and the camaraderie between the crew, but also the vivid memories he had after the war. He also reflects on joining the Normandy Veterans Association in 1985, becoming the secretary and later the chairman, arranging trips with his own money for veterans to return to Normandy and how he had met so many extraordinary people through this important work.  

Edgar spent most of his childhood living near Heathrow and experienced the blitz and bombing of London. He enlisted in 1949 at aged 18. After joining the Middlesex battalion and travelling to Hong Kong, Edgar became a batman, as well as a barman and waiter. However, 8 months after arriving, they were transferred to Korea with only 4 days’ notice. He describes being nervous, as he didn’t know what to expect or what was happening there. His memories of Korea began with the smell of human waste at the dock. His primary role in Korea was that of riding shotgun for supply convoys to the front line such as the Pusan Perimeter and Huang He. Edgar gives a rich account of his time in Korea, including the complex relationships they had with the American troops, his experiences of the Korean people and the significant challenges of facing the Chinese army. He ascribes his own survival to the knowledge of the WWII veterans, and particularly the skills of their three commanding officers.  However, he feels that the Korean war and their role in it, have not been recognised to the extent that it should even to this day.