Mike Jackson joined the army aged 17 in 1961 and went to Sandhurst next year. Initially in the Intelligence Corps he then joined the Parachute Regiment. In the early 1970s he was posted to Northern Ireland. Here he witnessed or was close to many harrowing events such as the Ballymurphy killings, Bloody Sunday and the Warrenpoint ambush. He saw bodies dismembered by bombs and acknowledged that this could be traumatic. Mike thinks that soldiers adapt to such events, helped by the adrenalin the body produces. He did not want to go into detail regarding Bloody Sunday as he had already disclosed this during the Saville Report years earlier. He regrets that he missed the Falklands War as he was working in the MOD at the time and after service in Norway he was sent to former Yugoslavia. Here he commanded the British 3^rd division and some units from other nations. Later, in 1999, he commanded KFOR, a multi-national peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During this time he was ordered by General Clark, the US overall commander, to prevent a Russian unit from seizing Pristina airfield. Jackson refused the order, saying that he was not going to ‘…start the Third World War…’, an action which gained notoriety in the media. Later, in 2003, he was promoted to head of the Army. In 2006 he retired after forty-five years’ service. He describes his career as both enjoyable and rewarding as it helped to make a difference to peoples lives.

At 18 years old Bill Hurst joined the 1st King's Liverpool Regiment as a national serviceman, and describes how his initial training as a driver ultimately led him to fighting in Korea, a country he had never heard of. Bill recalls the terror of the shelling, and the shared realisation amongst the soldiers that they might not be returning home. In one particularly moving moment, he remembers the fear of being sent over the top and the shrapnel he took in his knee as a result of enemy fire. He also reflects on the huge loss of young men during this war, and how it has been largely forgotten as a war. However, Bill maintains the importance of remembering the funnier moments and shares fond memories of the friends he made, and the end of the war where they all knew they would be going home. Remembering the Battle of the Hook, Bill makes clear that he tried to keep his head down and survive the never-ending barrage of shells. His interview provides an authentic account of the Korean war and the reality of life in the trenches.