Kay volunteered for the Auxiliary Territorial Service as a teenager in 1940. Toward the end of her training three ATS women were killed in Chatham and she volunteered as one of the replacements. This assignment was in the Y service, which was a worldwide network of intelligence gathering. Her work involved receiving messages from around the world, transcribing them so that they could be evaluated and passed on to various units. Some went to the Ultra decoding group at Bletchley Park. After several different locations her unit was sent to disguised purpose-built offices near Loughborough. Here she spent the next five years until the end of the war, which they knew was imminent when they received an uncoded message from Germany ‘Der Fuhrer ist kaput’! When the war ended she held the rank of sergeant. She was sworn to secrecy and did not talk about her work for thirty years, which irritated her mother. During her time in the Y service, she worked with Special Operations Executive and intelligence officers, including Kim Philby. She thinks that her work during the was worthwhile and has been told that it may have shortened the war by up to two years. In 1945 she married a man she met working at the same establishment, and they were both demobbed that year. She became a borough councillor and was thinking of standing as an MP but instead went with her husband to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where they lived and worked for fifteen years.

Colonel R.K. Montgomery shares his story as a British Army officer during World War II. Coming from a family with a strong military background, Montgomery joined the Royal Engineers in 1939. Early in the war, he faced the fast advance of German forces and had to pull back from France to England. His interest in explosives led him to join the Commandos, a special unit trained for tough missions. In his role he trained other Commandos in using explosives. His skills were crucial during the St. Nazaire Raid, a mission to destroy a key German port. During the raid, they completed their mission under heavy enemy fire but were eventually captured by German forces. Montgomery spent time as a prisoner of war in Oflag IX-A/H Spangenberg Germany. He faced many hardships but also showed great resilience to make it through his imprisonment. After the war, he continued his military service in Malaya, working in engineering roles. His story is a powerful example of bravery, skill, and dedication.

At aged 18, Richard interrupted his apprenticeship to do national service. He enlisted in the Royal Artillery, became a radio operator and was posted to Germany. While there, he tells of being asked to volunteer to go to Korea and was also asked to sign up as a regular. He refused to become a regular but agreed to go to Korea. Subsequently, he embarked on HMS Asturias and arrived at Pusan some 4 and ½ weeks later. He describes being welcomed during disembarkation by the band of the 2nd US Infantry Division. Following this he tells of a nighttime journey to the Headquarters of the Royal Artillery which was a distance away from the frontline at the Imjin River. He was required to relay messages from the frontline for US, Canadian and British troops. This included messages about the locations of the Chinese artillery and he described being actively involved in supporting the 3rd battle of the hook, just before the armistice was signed in 1953. He also describes his involvement in processing British POW’s after armistice. Lastly, he expresses his frustration at the extent to which the Korean war has been ignored.