Marian Jones first heard about the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) in 1941/42 when someone on leave visited her school which had been evacuated to Cornwall. During her two-week basic training she was tested for aptitude on morse, after which she received 6-9 months of wireless telegraphy (WT) training before becoming an operational radio operator, receiving messages from agents abroad. She emphasises the secrecy that was impressed on everyone involved because of the danger to agents: she signed the Official Secrets Act, let her mother believe she was a nurse, did not speculate or discuss her work even with colleagues. She recalls some memorable incidents: speaking in clear to agents during the liberation of Paris and Arnhem; very brief periods of leave; a map showing agent locations, which few people saw; the FANY uniform providing excellent cover because people assumed they were ATS or NAAFI.

After losing his job at a timber yard Clifford joined the RAF just before the conscription age of eighteen. When he had completed his training, he was posted to Gatow in Germany, the main British airfield, at the start of the Airlift in June 1948. He was a clerical worker, ensuring the safe and rapid turnaround of hundreds of flights, as well as performing guard duty and manual work. During the Airlift disassembled vehicles and food were delivered and on the return journey they brought back sick children and post, which was forwarded. There were large numbers of Germans working on the base, alongside the RAF personnel and during the Airlift the western Allies began to be seen as defenders, rather than occupiers. He remembers the appreciation of German children and parents when he and his comrades gave the children a Christmas party on the base. The British troops paid for this and gave gifts of chocolate bars and oranges to the youngsters. In Berlin he acquired an appreciation of opera, made good friends and had a German girlfriend. Marrying German women however was frowned on by the British authorities. One episode he recalls vividly is getting very drunk on his 21^st birthday and being disciplined by his superior officer. Clifford felt that he matured from a boy to a man during his time in Berlin and was sad to leave. Some of his companions thought that the Germans deserved all they got but that was not his opinion.

In the initial stages of his interview, Fred retells the story of his younger years which led him to join the parachute regiment with the onset of war. He describes his disillusionment with the accustomed tactics of Western-front warfare, and his desire to join a new regiment where everyone chose to be there. Fred recalls the difficulty of training, and the seemingly impossible tasking of jumping from the planes. Describing his landing in Normandy in June 1944, Fred discloses that not only was he seriously injured on arrival but was also taken as a prisoner of war. In August, the opportunity to escape arose and Fred fled to Paris. Although the majority of his interview highlights Fred's enjoyment, then and now, of being a Para, it also showcases the emotional trauma that resides in those who fought in the war. In reflecting on his experience of patrol in the Ardennes, Fred describes the transformative power of war and its ability to turn men into killers. His account provides a thoughtful and emotional insight into the experiences of parachute regiments in the Second World War.