Elizabeth’s first job was at British Airways in Bristol. One of her main responsibilities there involved fire watching, where she had to deal with small fires. After a while, Elizabeth decided to leave her role at British Airways, but as it was a reserved role during the war, it took over a year for her to leave. Following this, Elizabeth moved to London hoping to join the WRNS (Women's Royal Naval Service), but due to there being no vacancies, she ended up joining the FANYs (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry), January 1944. She went on to work in the SOE (Special Operations Executive) organisation in Baker street. Part of her training took her to Cranwell, where she was trained to use teleprinting machines. She remembers going on a trip to Italy with a senior FANY member. The trip there took longer than usual, due to the convoy taking a longer route in order to avoid submarines. Her role in Italy was as a typist, she remembers typing up information for supply drops scheduled to be sent to Yugoslavia and Poland. Elizabeth’s time there came to an end when she injured her back. The journey home was on a hospital ship, a Flying Fortress. The pilot called her to the cockpit, and once in the air, she was tasked with flying the aircraft, whilst the pilot went off to play poker. At some point during the flight, the pilot came back and showed Elizabeth Monte Cassino. She was shocked at the state of the place, it’s something she’ll never forget. After this, she spent some time at the FANY headquarters. Whilst there, Elizabeth learnt of a job opening as a personal assistant for the Australian Military Mission in Berlin. She got the job and went to Berlin, she was shocked at the state of the city. She worked out of a place in Charlottenburg, right next door to a house that was used by the Gestapo. Elizabeth remembers how starved the German civilians were at the time and how upsetting it was.

Philip’s career at sea has covered a range of experiences including working his way up from cadet to third mate on a cargo shop and a summer season on a hovercraft, which he calls “the original vomit comet” making journeys across the Channel. He joined the Queen Elizabeth II in 1978 and spent 10 years working onboard. Philip was meant to be on leave when the ship was requisitioned to attend the Falklands but he honourably stepped up and offered to swap with a married man. As a Cunard employee, but having spent time in the Royal Navy Reserves, Philip was well placed to become the Liaison Officer between ship operations and the military. He describes in detail the changes made to the QE2 to make the ship ready for transporting over 3000 troops and the technical difficulties they had to surmount. He also recalls the press interest in the ship and how visiting dignitaries, such as the Foreign Secretary, would have to be accommodated. Philip says the mix of personnel worked well and most people rehearsed a number of roles due to the uncertainty ahead, in particular, the Gurkha troops were incredibly diligent in practicing evacuation drills. The closer they get, the more the reality hits of what is ahead as they receive news of casualties and sunken warships. Icebergs are a real threat too and having to travel without radar (in case of detection) was risky. One treacherously foggy day a Cunard officer switched the radar back on and just as well he did because it alerted them to icebergs all around. Even anchoring the ship at Grytviken was dangerous as the water was so deep. Philip is able to recall in detail the operations taking place followed by a complex refuelling process to get them home safely. The return was very emotional as they were the first major ship to get back and carrying hundreds of survivors. They were welcomed home by the Queen Mother. Philip reflects that this time was a huge adventure and not something he could ever have imagined being part of as a normal Merchant Navy sailor.

Leslie Jenkins was a shop manager on a P&O cruise ship that was returning to Southampton to conclude its world cruise. An unexpected detour to Gibraltar brought the SS Canberra into the Falklands war as a requisitioned troopship. Now a volunteer in the war, Leslie, travelled to the South Atlantic Ocean and recalls what it was like to adjust to being a shop manager servicing British troops, Gurkhas, Argentines and reporters. He recalls the Canberra led by Captain Burne travelling to Ascension Island and offloading troops and supplies in San Carlos. Leslie remembers hearing the bombs dropped by aircrafts in San Carlos and the Canberra making it safely out of the foray to later meet the QE2 in South Georgia to take on more troops and stores. Leslie recounts his time in the heart of the conflict, being very busy and having notable visits from Prince Andrew and when the war was declared over, the Canberra continued to provide its service and transported nearly 4,200 prisoners back to Argentina. Leslie fondly recalls also being visited by the Prince of Wales on board the vessel on its voyage home to Southampton where they were greeted by a grateful crowd. His story unveils an untold personal history of the experience of non-uniformed volunteers in The Falklands War.