Geoff Pratt joined the British Army in 1968 at the age of 15, inspired by a love of music and encouragement from his future brother-in-law, a serving musician. Originally from Sandy, Bedfordshire, Geoff began his military musical journey on the euphonium, later transitioning to the trombone. Serving with the Royal Corps of Transport Staff Band, Geoff performed across the UK and abroad, including Germany, Cyprus, and Northern Ireland during the Troubles. He recalls the tense experience of performing in Armagh’s town square while armed soldiers stood guard in nearby shop doorways - vividly aware of the dangers military musicians could face in conflict zones. In addition to his musical duties, Geoff trained as an HGV driver, enabling him to transport the band’s instruments across challenging terrain, including through politically sensitive areas under armed escort. His service also included memorable performances such as the Horse of the Year Show and ceremonial parades. Geoff speaks with pride about the role of military music in uniting people, boosting morale, and honouring tradition, and reflects with lasting emotion on the sacrifice of fellow musicians, particularly those lost in the Regent’s Park Bandstand bombing.

An adventurous and extroverted young woman, Pauline joined the WRAC at seventeen years old after outperforming boys at her school in an army assault course. She knew in that moment that she would excel in a military career. Following her six weeks at Guildford she was posted to Blackdown to train as a supply clerk with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. She wanted to be a Physical Training Instructor but was advised to go into stores whilst placed in holding for an opening in physical trades. She remained in her first role as a store supplier before she was posted to Rheindahlen to supply local army bases. Being from Guyana Pauline describes the anxiety she felt in certain environments regarding racial prejudice but reflects fondly on her time in Rheindahlen due to her being surrounded by many women of different ethnicities. During her three years in Germany, as well as managing stores, she was also told to watch for Russian number plates or report suspicions of IRA or Cold War tensions. In this interview, Pauline recalls her upset at her forced leave due to her pregnancy and describes the many good soldiers the army lost due to this very reason. Like many other women, she felt she had more to give and these opportunities were taken away. Although Pauline speaks passionately about her time with the WRAC, her journey also highlights the issues with the treatment of women in the army.

George Talbot was a young lad when WWII broke out and so had to wait until 1940 to enlist when he was just 18 years old. George recollects how he volunteered for the airborne division and joined the 52^nd Ox and Bucks Regiment where he trained in gliders. It was an intense training regime, including an assault course so tough he says Rambo would have struggled with it, but George believes they were better for it. George recounts how the initial excitement of leaving England for the first time soon dissipated as they flew over the smoking French battlefields. Soon he and his glider were down, battered and broken, but safely in France. What follows is an in-depth, and at times graphic, account of George’s campaigns in Normandy, the Ardennes, the Rhine and onto Palestine including a very close shave with a German tank, the awful effects of a phosphorous bomb and the relentless shelling from the Germans which would have mentally ground them all down was it not for the camaraderie of the men. George shares a valuable account of the day to day experiences of troops on the ground and looks back on the loss of his youth as a sacrifice, but one ultimately worth making.