Ishbel had experience with the University Officers Training Corps (OTC) and the Territorial Army (TA) before she joined the WRAC in 1985. She had trained as a pharmacist at university and it was only after graduating she considered joining the army. She recalls Crusade Eight as the first major operation she worked on alongside the local infantry unit. Ishbel describes how in this role, aside from escorting VIPS, most of the women would take on administrative work. She was then posted to C Company in Grangemouth as a Platoon Commander and comments on the changing atmosphere surrounding women's treatment in the early 1980s. Ishbel also describes how in the OTC and the TA women were afforded more opportunities, such as weapons and armed combat training, whereas the WRAC were only just introducing weapons training. From this point Ishbel underwent a series of role changes within the army; she traveled to Sandhurst, Catterick, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, and London where she completed her Masters in Administration. At Porton Down, she revisited her pharmacist experience and worked with scientists to develop pharmaceutical and technological military defences. Ishbel went on to become an Adjutant General in Bosnia, the Balkans, then a Lieutenant Colonel in Cyprus and a medic in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Reflecting on the WRAC, Ishbel feels that it gave her the grounding to begin her wider military career. An inspiring interview, we thank Ishbel for her incredible stories and for being a trailblazing woman.

This film captures Year 10 students from Wildern School, Hedge End engaging in a unique oral history project, exploring the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC). The project was run by Legasee with support from the WRAC Association and Adjutant General's Corps (AGC) Museum in Winchester. The workshops fostered critical thinking, curiosity, and enquiry as students developed their knowledge of some of the challenges faced by Britain and the wider world in the 20th century - one of the content requirements of the English National Curriculum for History at Key Stage 3. Through their research about the WRAC, and perceptive questioning of Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Sue Westlake, MBE, the students examined the complexities of life during the Cold War and the evolving role of women in the military. By connecting with lived experiences, students practised essential skills like communication, confidence, and evidence-based reasoning. With thanks to the staff at Wildern School for welcoming Legasee in, and encouraging their young historians to develop new perspectives on societal change, gender equality, and British military conflicts in the second half of the 20th century.

Born in Alsager, Cheshire, Geoffrey joined the Army to avoid working down the coal mines. He recalls moments of hope while fighting on the Europe frontline, such as the sight of a crucifix on the door of a French school in Cristot, miraculously unharmed despite heavy shelling. He also describes the difficult position of having to shoot his first soldier, when a group of three German troops feigned surrender and threw a hand grenade. Like with the deaths of his own regiment and friends, Geoff kept himself positive with one simple mantra: “I'm glad it’s not me”. After being shot in the leg in Belgium, Geoff was captured and transported in a cattle truck to Stalag IV-B, one of Germany’s largest POW camps. He describes the harsh conditions and overcrowding, as well as witnessing the camp’s justice system at work, after guards caught and shot a fellow prisoner accused of stealing rations.  In a cruel twist of fate, he also found himself forced to work somewhere he wanted to avoid at all cost - a coal mine. After surviving Stalag IV-B and the notorious ‘Death March’, Geoff returned safely home to Barnsley, weighing only 6 stone and 2 pounds.  Geoff’s optimism shines throughout this interview, despite his harrowing ordeal. He fondly remembers much of the camaraderie during his time in service, and still to this day expresses no regrets of his experience in Europe. He maintains respect for the Germans, for always keeping to their word.