After seeing the WRAC in a magazine, Loraine was inspired to join the army and in 1973 arrived at Guildford. Determined to work with animals, she was quickly posted to Mulgrave where she began her specialised dog training. Loraine describes how following graduation, each woman was given a 'line' to maintain. She recalls the strict disciplinary environment of the kennels and the limited positions for women available. Although members of the WRAC were in training with dogs, they weren't officially allowed to train dogs - only handle them, as this was an overtly male profession. Following her years at the kennels, she left to work in a veterinary hospital on promotion. Devastatingly, she was forced to leave on conditions of marriage but after divorcing years later, was able to rejoin the WRAC with the encouragement of other women around her. She provides some interesting insights into the changing climate when she returned to the army in 1984. After becoming a qualified instructor, in 1988 she was promoted to a professional horse coach and groom at the Saddle Club in Hong Kong. In this interview, Loraine describes the disbandment of the WRAC as a societal indicator that not only were women's roles changing, but they were moving beyond a restrictive system.

Gerald “Gerry” Farmer grew up in East London and briefly experienced evacuation during the Second World War before returning home. At 18 he was called up for National Service and, by December 1951, found himself conscripted to the Korean War.

In his interview, Gerry recalls the long journey to Korea with the Royal Fusiliers, his responsibilities on Hill 159, and the brutal reality of the Battle of the Hook. He tells of saving the life of a Korean soldier, being wounded by shrapnel, and the lasting memories of those who did not survive. His return to Korea in 1981 stirred powerful emotions, contrasting the devastation he remembered with the rebuilt country he saw.

Gerry also offers candid reflections on the war itself: the harsh weather, unsuitable equipment, the disparity in pay between national forces, and his doubts about why they were really fighting. Amidst these hard truths, he shares lighter moments — camaraderie with Australian soldiers, a first taste of Jack Daniels, and even an encounter with Michael Caine.

His story is one of hardship, humour, and honesty about a conflict too often forgotten.

Having served in the Irish Army in 1943 to 44, ‘Paddy’ was discharged along with many of his compatriots, so he enlisted in the British Army. Even though he was Irish, on the advice of his father, he joined the Manchester regiment in Liverpool. From there, Paddy volunteered to join the Commandos and transferred to Achnacarry in Scotland in 1944. Although the training was gruelling, he succeeded and was proud to achieve his beret. Transferring to Wrexham in 1945, he was selected for special training and then posted to the Far East, training for Operation Nipper. Surrender following the second atom bomb resulted in redirection to the Malacca Straits and from there to the Middle East. Paddy describes serving in Egypt and then Israel and then in 1948, being posted to London, where he was on guard during the night of King Charles’s birth. Subsequently posted again to the Far East, it was in 1949 that he was sent to Korea. He tells of many battles and experiences including Operation Rowley, the taking and loss of Pyongyang and Kunu-ri. Paddy is critical of the behaviour of the American Military in Korea. Ultimately, Paddy expresses the view that war is futile.