Gilbert Beck’s journey into military music began humbly in rural Oxfordshire, where his father brought home a grand piano from a local market, sparking a lifelong passion. Raised in a musical family, Gilbert sang in the church choir and played organ before joining the Army in 1948 as a band boy with the Royal Artillery. Trained at Woolwich and later Kneller Hall, Gilbert played double bass, tuba, and bass trombone, eventually joining the North Staffordshire Regiment. His musical service took him across Europe and into the Korean War, where he played a vital role in maintaining morale. From conducting services with a portable organ to performing for multinational troops, including Canadians and Americans, his music helped bridge cultural divides in a devastated landscape. In Korea, Gilbert played at the dedication of a tented village for displaced civilians and led hymns at makeshift services in Gloucester Valley. His experience highlighted the humanising power of music amid the harshness of war. Later selected for the demanding bandmaster course at Kneller Hall, Gilbert's talent earned him great respect, even as he ultimately chose family life over a full military career. Music remained central to Gilbert’s life, both in and out of uniform - a true servant of harmony in service and in peace.

Collin Parker details his experience with PTSD as well as his tragic fall from invincible Coldstream Guard to being left for dead in the Middle East. Slaving away day after day at his foundry job pushed Collin to actualise his childhood infatuation with the Armed Forces and join the Coldstream Guards. This particular regiment had a violent and prideful reputation due to moulding their recruits to feel like nothing could hurt them, something Collin experienced first hand.  Collin initially found it exciting to be on the battlefield until he was surrounded by Middle Eastern tribals and gravely injured by their mortar fire, the two teenagers soldiers under his command at the time not making it. Laying in the crater thinking about his family one last time Collin was fully convinced he had died but miraculously he survived.  After the attack Collin had to relearn how to walk and talk and was then medically discharged and forced to deal with his new found PTSD alone. Having to accept that the army viewed him as expendable was extremely difficult for Collin; he felt so small and powerless after being discharged, he had lost everything and they did not care. Due to the way the Coldstream Guard trained him Collin never believed he would suffer from PTSD but now he was stuck constantly relieving the stress and fear from that day over and over. 

John was drafted into the Army and, upon becoming a commissioned officer in the Royal Welsh Regiment, chose Jamaica as his dream destination. Fate chose Folkstone's barracks for John instead. He explains how his strong relationship with his platoon commander, rugby and the British weather - but not its terrain - prepared them for Korea. John then fondly recounts travelling and being posted to Hong Kong in 1951, aged 19, and explains how "Tuffy" the goat mascot deeply affected Welsh servicemen's morale! Most men had never left Wales, so they brought Welsh hymns with them as they landed in Pusan. John recalls acclimatising to a country and people devastated by war. Posted on the "Hook" ridge frontline, John gives a colourful depiction of the British defensive positions and cooking with petrol. He recalls his first (very) close enemy contact and the Chinese army's professionalism. John fought fiercely on Hill 169. He explains what night-time fighting was like and how his company fought their way out of a Chinese encirclement. John poignantly reflects on how the love for his men often trumped his fear of death. John shares a heart-racing encounter with a numerically superior enemy and how British artillery helped them escape into no man's land. John explains how the unreliable Sten gun hindered their retreat and how an act of god saved his men. On another dreaded daylight patrol, John shares a heart-breaking memory of how a well-placed mortar killed two of his men. There were always two other enemies, the cold weather and hills, and John explains how they were fought. John's platoon was then posted to Hill 355. John recalls a night-time raid behind enemy lines and how his men kept their discipline under unimaginable terror, and how he won the Military cross. He also speaks of keeping his humanity during war. Korea gave John clarity on life's important things and a steadfast resilience to its challenges. He also got nightmares and a lifelong grief for his fallen men. John is testament to the British soldier's camaraderie, honesty and resilience in the face of unimaginable challenges.