Following completion of an apprenticeship, Peter signed on as a regular in the Army for three years in 1951, because it meant he could choose where he wanted to serve. After training, he served in the Royal Army Service Corps as a driver. He tells of a posting to HQ Southern Command and from there being sent to Korea. Like many others, he explains that he hadn’t heard of Korea before this. Embarking at Southampton on the Empire Fowey, he and his compatriots travelled first to Japan. He recounts the journey from Japan to Korea, travelling through Hiroshima and seeing the crater, following which he was parachuted into Seoul. He was posted to the 26th Field Ambulance Division and drove both ambulances and transport. He tells of the poor conditions of the roads and the impact of the weather on their work, including that their trucks would freeze during the winter if not looked after properly. At the end of the Korean War, Peter tells of his brief foray into athletics, running for the battalion. He was then posted to Hong Kong. He expresses frustration at the lack of attention given to the Korean war in comparison to other wars.

George Rose grew up in south-east London during the Second World War, experiencing the Blitz, air raid shelters and the celebrations that followed victory in 1945. National Service eventually took him from suburban Kent to Egypt and, unexpectedly, to the Korean War.

Volunteering to join the Royal Fusiliers, George found himself serving not in the front line trenches but in the battalion orderly room, where he became responsible for the vital flow of information that kept the regiment functioning. Working behind the lines, he witnessed the hidden side of war: casualty reports, citations for bravery, urgent messages and the administrative machinery that supported men fighting on the hills.

His interview offers a fascinating perspective on life within the Royal Fusiliers, the realities of service during a largely forgotten conflict and the quiet professionalism of those whose work rarely attracts attention.

More than seventy years later, George remains quietly proud of his service and of the regiment he came to call his own.