Content warning// This interview contains discussions of sensitive topics such as PTSD, depression and suicidal thoughts which some viewers may find distressing. If you are affected by these topics, please consider seeking support from a trusted person or organisation.   German Uli met her partner Alex while he was working for the Professional Service Guard. He had previously served for almost 18 years with the Royal Logistics Corp and Uli knew bits and pieces about Alex’s time in Northern Ireland and Sierra Leone. In 2015 Uli noticed that Alex was becoming quieter and retreating into himself, he admitted that he was feeling depressed. Alex was diagnosed with PTDS. It was recommended that Alex join Band of Brothers for support and that Uli join Band of Sisters. She didn’t think she would need assistance herself but wanted to find out more about supporting someone through PTSD and depression. Uli is incredibly open about Alex’s symptoms of depression, anxiety, being hyper alert and burying his emotions. The more stories she heard from the Band of Sisters, she became incredibly grateful that Alex was never physically or verbally abusive. Alex’s treatment was slow and it took a very long time, and a great deal of pain to manage, before he was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia, or chronic pain syndrome. Thankfully, he had Uli to chase and advocate on his behalf but he now lives with extreme pain on a daily basis. Uli describes how she used to try and be superwoman for Alex but it all became too much. She worried so much about him, especially when he had suicidal thoughts. Uli sought help and was given medication and also undertook therapy with Hidden Wounds which she says was brilliant. The Band of Sisters has also been a terrific support. Not only is there always someone there who knows what you are going through, Uli has also been involved in numerous fundraising activities such as trekking in Cambodia. But Uli knows the road ahead is still difficult, she confesses she has had dark thoughts herself and only by opening up did she realise these were likely caused by her medication. She admits she never puts herself first and hopes that by sharing her and Alex’s story it will help others to reach out and find help.

At the age of seventeen, with the knowledge that she wouldn’t have an address, and her parents wouldn’t know where she was, Eileen Simpson became a FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry). After training at the SOE centre at Chicheley Hall in Buckinghamshire, Eileen tells how she went to work at Norgeby House in Baker Street, London, the SOE’s main WW2 control centre for the European country sections. There she spent three years, working in a team with three other women, coding messages sent to operatives in the field, and compiling schedules and frequencies for when SOE agents across Europe should send their messages. Eileen remembers having to be careful not to get too attached to agents due to the heavy loss of personnel, and being all too aware that you shouldn’t discuss work when ‘you’ve got other people’s lives in your hands’. Working six and a half days a week, including through Doodle bomb raids, and the time a V-2 rocket landed on Marylebone Station, the women formed a close-knit group which resulted in lifelong friendships. Eileen recalls being very aware that they had something to work for, and despite having very little time off, she says she ‘loved every minute!’