Peter was conscripted when he turned 21 in 1951. He was sent to the Army Service Corp where he learnt how to drive various vehicles and also became responsible for the new national service recruits. He was unaware that war had broken out in Korea until he returned from leave to see his name on the board for dispatch there. Peter recalls the 4 week journey to Pusan and the devastated landscape where the trees had all be burnt down and the land scorched. One day he spots a notice looking for a medical orderly and gets the job. One of the big bonuses was a tent to himself and no longer sharing with eleven other men. He describes his day to day duties and having his eyes opened to the spread of VD. He then applies for a job looking after the canteen supplies. He didn’t have to go on any patrols but would go out to help retrieve dead bodies. Peter also describes the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) tents where he was impressed by the work being done. Peter reflects that his time serving may not have been the most exciting but it was important, valuable work that needed done.

Ken provides a compelling account of his volatile journey through Europe with the 7th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment during World War II. Leaving an unhappy childhood, Ken received his moment of destiny after enlisting into the Royal Tank Regiment at sixteen. He trained as a driver/operator in the 7th Tanks before transporting to Normandy, 2-3 days after the D-day landings; his first taste of luck. Landing on seized beaches, six tanks were offloaded from an LCT. Despite being in the Churchill Regiment, Ken had the misfortune of operating inside a Stuart, a lightly armoured tank which the Germans could easily damage. Adding to the mania, it wasn't long before many officers were replaced for various reasons. This included the promotion of his Captain, resulting in Ken, the Troop Leader's operator, to take up the reins. Following a few gruelling battles, the crew encountered some Canadian troops hammering at the Germans with a field full of 7.2-inch Howitzers. It was decided for the regiment to rest around their position while struggling to sleep against the constant banging of their assault. However, this site would also prove fateful, as dusk approached, Ken beheld a German aircraft, releasing a calamitous rain of bombs from above. The scenes of destruction and pain remained evocative in his memory, from flaming petrol proliferating their surroundings to the agonising screams of their gunner, tragically missing much from the waist down in his failed attempt to remain hidden underneath one of the tanks. Despite the catastrophe, Ken managed to survive and was later sent to a holding camp for medical attention; considering himself fortunate once more. Eventually, he rejoined the 7th Tanks and continued his service. He recalls how people used to call tanks 'metal coffins' due to the number of troops who died inside them but Ken saw differently. Protection was better than no protection and despite the setbacks, he remembers the occasions when German snipers would attack and was thankful to be in a tank. Even among scorched earth, Ken was hardy throughout and embraced his time in the army, describing it as a big adventure. His story captures the bravery demonstrated by those who served in the Royal Tank Regiment as well as the fortunes and misfortunes one faces in a landscape afflicted by war.

Gordon began learning to play the cornet at aged 10, while many of his friends were out playing football. After leaving school, he successfully applied to the Royal Engineers at Chatham at aged 14 and was subsequently accepted as a pupil at Kneller Hall despite being only 14 years old. After 18 months, he succeeded in his exams and returned to Chatham. While there, he was supported to continue his education and studied Music at Trinity College. In 1956, he was accepted back at Kneller Hall, although considered too young for a studentship, but put in for the 6-month exams where he came top of his group. He subsequently took on a bandmaster roll at aged 25, becoming the youngest in the army to achieve this. Gordon goes on to describe his time as bandmaster and the rich variety of opportunities that came his way, including serving in Germany. Ultimately, Gordon became Professor of Band Arranging, Harmony and History Music at Kneller Hall. In the last months of his career he met Princess Anne, who was then Colonel in Chief of his regiment. She was instrumental in organising a celebration of his work in London before he retired.