CONTENT WARNING This interview contains some strong language and graphic descriptions of war casualties, wartime violence and fatalities that some readers may find upsetting. If you are affected by these topics, please consider seeking support from a trusted person or organisation.   Tom Howard’s interview offers a vivid, deeply personal account of his varied and often perilous military service. He begins by reflecting on his transition into the Army and initial training, before being posted to Northern Ireland during a period of intense unrest. He recalls arriving at Musgrave Park Hospital on a day marked by 18 car bombs and describes duties defending police stations and participating in Operation Motorman to dismantle IRA barricades. His reflections include a disturbing revelation that a former friend had joined the IRA. After earning his wings through P Company, Tom joined the 7th Parachute Regiment, taking part in covert operations and jungle training in Malaya. Later, as a medic with the Army Medical Corps, he was deployed to the Falklands. There, he helped establish a field hospital under daily bombardment. Despite severe personal sacrifices, including two failed marriages, Tom remains proud of his service. His testimony is marked by courage, honesty, and resilience.

George describes his WWII childhood in Cornwall, leaving school at 14 and working as an apprentice for the General Post Office (GPO). Conscripted into the army’s Royal Corps of Signals aged 19, he remembers training camp instructors’ hostility and his lasting camaraderie with trainees from all backgrounds. He recalls seeing other countries and nationalities for the first time during his 28-day journey to Korea, becoming emotional while reflecting upon his arrival in Pusan, where he saw refugees facing extreme poverty and the ravages of war. As a wireless operator, George drove reconnaissance vehicles around the Imjin River. At night, he scraped sleeping holes into hillsides or slept under the stars, always missing home but never frightened. He conveys the stench of war, the whistling of shell fire overhead, the suffocating heat of the dusty summer and the sometimes-fatal blistering winter cold. He reminisces fondly about the Korean nation and the feeling of returning home to Penzance. George’s depiction of wartime smells, sights and sounds show the enduring intensity of veterans’ memories even decades later. His interview highlights how, for some, deployment was the adventure of a lifetime that took them to otherwise inaccessible corners of the world.

After surviving the Blitz as a child, Leonard later joined National Service as a young adult. Following basic training, he volunteered for deployment in Korea, eventually travelling on the Empire Fowey. Upon arriving in Pusan, he joined the 14th Field Regiment. He reflects on his role as a signaller, detailing the equipment he worked with on the frontlines. Leonard remembers a night on duty when a radio transmission came through, the sound of gunfire in the background before fading into silence. By morning, he learned that those behind the transmission had been ambushed and killed by the Chinese. The cold of winter and the rabbit-sized rats that swarmed the battlefield and dugouts remain vivid in Leonard's memory. During his deployment, the Chinese broadcasted propaganda messages, aiming to demoralise soldiers by reminding them of home. Eventually, Leonard’s time in Korea ended and he returned home. He found it hard to adjust to life back home, but eventually settled. Years later, he revisited Korea and was amazed by how much the country had transformed since the war.