A keen runner and fitness fanatic, Anthony Cooper signed up at 16 and completed his training at AFC Harrogate and Catterick before being posted to Germany with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment – an experience he recalls with great glee. Anthony goes on to talk about the six-month operational tour of Iraq that followed, and shares the harsh realities of his first real soldiering experience compared to the practice of training. After a brief decompression in Cyprus, Anthony returned to Catterick where training for combat in Afghanistan began. He recalls the relentlessness of the conflict on arriving in Nad Ali, and talks about living with the fear of a constant threat to life which became all too real in 2010 when a 45kg IED exploded beneath his feet on a routine patrol in Helmand Province. Anthony talks candidly about his injuries, the long road to recovery and the hard work needed to adapt to life as an amputee with severe brain trauma and visual impairment. The extraordinary courage and resilience of his service now manifest themselves in his determination to overcome any new obstacle in his path, and to achieve his dream of running again one day on blades.

Eric Peters joined the army on New Year’s Day, 1945, at age 17. Initially sent to Markeaton Park, Derby, to the General Service Corps, he was persuaded by a friend to join the Black Watch and later, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He was posted to Germany to manage records of soldiers. After a brief period, Eric was posted to India during the war of independence. He arrived in Bombay and took a six-day train journey to the North West Frontier. One night, while sleeping in the back of the barracks, Eric and his battalion heard shouting, fighting, and gunshots. The next morning, they found that everyone in the streets had been slain. Soldiers on horseback quickly escorted them out of the town. This traumatic experience has stayed with Eric ever since. After leaving Karachi, Eric's regiment was split, and he was assigned to the Argylls. He was then posted to Palestine, Egypt, England, and spent 18 months in Hong Kong before heading to Korea. Upon arrival, they found only a 30-mile perimeter of South Korea left. Eric fought throughout Korea, from Nakdong and Tagu to the North Korean capital. The soldiers, ill-equipped for the bitter winter, ate American rations of beef burgers, frankfurters, coffee, and cocoa—Eric loved the food. During a night mission, Eric was tasked with scouting a nearby village. His commanding officer assured him that his group would be the only one operating that night. After completing the scouting and crossing back over the frozen river, they encountered a group of soldiers. Remaining alert, they approached and asked for the password, which the soldiers correctly provided. It became clear that his group was not the only one operating that night, Eric was very angry. As the Chinese joined the war, Eric was preparing to leave Korea. After his departure, he was stationed in Hong Kong for 12 months before returning home. Upon arrival, the streets of Edinburgh were filled with people applauding their return. Eric describes the Korean War as an experience—not a pleasant one, but a part of life.

Rowena Patrick MBE trained at the WRAC College in Camberley and began her long military career in the WRAC in 1969 at the age of 23. Employed with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps at Aldershot and then Shrewsbury, Rowena was responsible for rewriting the then-outdated syllabus for women’s military training in the WRAC. As a keen mountaineer, Rowena’s new syllabus included adventurous survival training for both men and women, including rock climbing, ice climbing, and walking in all weather in the UK and abroad. In 1976, Rowena was posted as a grade 3 staff officer in the Ministry of Defence to the Directorate of Army Training in Guildford. During her career as an Army Major and Commanding Officer, Rowena worked alongside Wrens and members of the WRAF. Rowena remembers several IRA bombings that occurred in the 1970s and her experience with the SIB. Rowena also recalls, with pride and sadness, marching at Lord Louie Mountbatten’s state funeral in 1979. From then, for two and a quarter years, Rowena worked in Brunei for the Sultan of Brunei on loan service with the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment. Whilst in Brunei, Rowena carried out physical training, forming the Women's Army of Brunei. Back in England, in 1985, she became employed with the Royal Corps of Signals in Blanford. Rowena resigned from the WRAC in 1992. She went on to work for The Burma Star Association; in 2012, Rowena was awarded an MBE for her outstanding contribution and services to the veteran’s association.