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A veteran interview with

John Boyd

John Boyd provides a detailed and at times, humorous account of his service in Korea.

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About John Boyd

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
Gemma Jones
Transcribed by:
Gillian Cousins

Transcripts:
Please note that transcripts and closed captions in the video player are automatically generated by Vimeo.

If you would like a version of the transcript that has been transcribed manually by Gillian Cousins, please complete this form or email info@legasee.org.uk.

Copyright:
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Home | Veterans | John Boyd

A veteran interview with

John Boyd

John-Boyd-frame

John Boyd provides a detailed and at times, humorous account of his service in Korea.

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https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/john-boyd/

Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Boyd, John. A Veteran Interview with John Boyd. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, 26 Oct. 2017 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/john-boyd/. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
APA Style:
Boyd, J. (2017, October 26). A Veteran Interview with John Boyd [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved July 15, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/john-boyd/
Chicago Style:
Boyd, John. 2017. A Veteran Interview with John Boyd. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, October 26. Accessed July 15, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/john-boyd/
Harvard Style:
Boyd, J. (2017). A Veteran Interview with John Boyd. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee, 26 October. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/john-boyd/ (Accessed: 15 July 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Boyd, J. A Veteran Interview with John Boyd [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; 2017 Oct 26 [cited 2025 Jul 15]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/john-boyd/
An interview with

Rowena Patrick

WRAC Officer who reshaped women’s training and led with strength across continents

Rowena Patrick MBE trained at the WRAC College in Camberley and began her long military career in the WRAC in 1969 at the age of 23. Employed with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps at Aldershot and then Shrewsbury, Rowena was responsible for rewriting the then-outdated syllabus for women’s military training in the WRAC. As a keen mountaineer, Rowena’s new syllabus included adventurous survival training for both men and women, including rock climbing, ice climbing, and walking in all weather in the UK and abroad. In 1976, Rowena was posted as a grade 3 staff officer in the Ministry of Defence to the Directorate of Army Training in Guildford. During her career as an Army Major and Commanding Officer, Rowena worked alongside Wrens and members of the WRAF. Rowena remembers several IRA bombings that occurred in the 1970s and her experience with the SIB. Rowena also recalls, with pride and sadness, marching at Lord Louie Mountbatten’s state funeral in 1979. From then, for two and a quarter years, Rowena worked in Brunei for the Sultan of Brunei on loan service with the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment. Whilst in Brunei, Rowena carried out physical training, forming the Women's Army of Brunei. Back in England, in 1985, she became employed with the Royal Corps of Signals in Blanford. Rowena resigned from the WRAC in 1992. She went on to work for The Burma Star Association; in 2012, Rowena was awarded an MBE for her outstanding contribution and services to the veteran’s association.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Marjorie Inkster

Marjorie Inkster was a FANY radar technician who later led a team of REME technicians maintaining the radar on anti-aircraft guns in north London.

Marjorie Inkster was inspired to become a FANY and later work on anti-aircraft radar when her parent’s house was bombed early in the war. Because she was only 19 and had insufficient driving experience, she spent a year on petrol counting, which prompted her to volunteer for radar training. After 9 months’ training, she initially worked on radar research then found herself in charge of a REME detachment of men looking after the radar for 5 gun sites in north London. She provides many interesting and inspiring recollections: dealing with an incendiary that hit her lodgings; the extent of the technical training; the competition to service the radar on a dredger because they got navy chocolate; avoiding a bomb as they drove to fix a radar; sending secret components for repair by normal post. In London, she was incentivised to ensure the Identification Friend or Foe worked correctly because her brother was a night fighter pilot. Secrecy meant their work was never discussed, including the fact that her sister spent the war at Bletchley Park.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Ailsa Camm