Albert Malin recounts the early days of his Naval service spent living in a Nissen Hut on the shoreline of the Solent, coordinating the loading of D-Day landing crafts. A few weeks later, he received his first draft to HMS Oxlip, a Flower-class corvette, whose surprising appearance left him rather taken aback. Albert explains Oxlip’s role in anti-submarine convoy duties, before detailing the heart-stopping moment the crew realised the ship's power had failed, leaving them adrift and alone in the Barents Sea. A successful rescue mission afforded Albert and his crewmates a night of respite aboard sister-ship HMS Bluebell at Polyarny, the Russian base on the Arctic Coast. But the following day, as Oxlip set sail again, Albert recalls witnessing the devastating torpedo hit that sank the Bluebell, killing all but one of its 92-strong crew: a brutal reminder of the desperate situation faced by all those who sailed on the convoys during the Second World War. Every year, Albert raises a glass to the crew of the Bluebell, and by sharing his memories with us here, he ensures their legacies will also live on.

After testing out the army and the air force as a cadet, William Sheppard settled on a career in the navy and completed his training at HMS Collingwood. After passing out, he joined HMS Onyx in 1943 and remained with the same ship until 1949. William talks about his duties aboard the Onyx, remembering the good fortune that excused him from many of the more tedious jobs to be done, and recalls the constant challenge to keep warm faced by the crew as they sailed the Arctic seas. His story includes details of the sweeps commonly used by the Onyx when trying to detect mines, and he tells of the horrors he encountered when the ship arrived in the English Channel ahead of the Normandy landings. William also recalls catching sight of a ship full of German maidens en route back to harbour, wryly commenting on the lack of any similar provision within the British navy.

Wally Beall had always wanted to join the navy, but when WW2 started he worked in a reserved occupation making lenses for binoculars and naval instruments. He struggled to leave the work until finally, in 1943, he joined the navy as an electrician. Wally was soon assigned to the landing craft that would make the first trip across the channel for D-Day. He shares his memories of the initial crossing, the first landing on Utah Beach amidst shelling and the subsequent trips to and from France as his craft delivered tanks, supplies and personnel to multiple beaches over the following days. As part of his story, he recalls a particularly close shave on a return trip to France, when his craft came side by side with a floating water mine. He describes the desperate efforts of his crew mates to push the mine further away using brooms and whatever else they could find onboard. Wally's interview especially highlights the camaraderie aboard ships in the Royal Navy, as well as the international effort of D-Day as he worked alongside Americans and Australians.