Although Ted Verbiest had “a lovely war” in South Africa, he initially describes the chaos of recruitment and defending the beach at Littlehampton against a rumoured German invasion. More darkly, he recalls diving for cover with a WREN when German aircraft killed 32 people at RNAS Ford (18^th August 1940). He then spent a year in Scotland, where one of his mates shot at a parachute, only to discover it was a parachute mine – fortunately, he missed. In Cape Town, his squadron built a new airfield so they could uncrate aircraft and prepare them for operations in the South Atlantic or Indian Ocean. He married a WREN in the airfield church, memorably spending his honeymoon on Table Mountain. Back in England, his squadron took over airfields as the Americans vacated, but they were cross to find they had been smashed up. Although he was duty Petty Officer on VE Day, his abiding memory is seeing a naked drunk man upside down in a dustbin.

Antoinette “Tony” Porter joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service as a teenager and quickly found herself in one of the war’s more unusual roles. Selected to take part in Operation Outward, she and her fellow Wrens launched hydrogen balloons fitted with incendiary devices, designed to drift into Germany and cause disruption. The work was heavy, physical, and dangerous. Antoinette recalls the sheer effort of handling the balloons, the types of explosives used, and the burns and injuries some Wrens suffered.

Her interview goes beyond secrecy and danger. Antoinette paints a vivid picture of wartime Britain: the terrifying sight of V1 flying bombs overhead, the exhilaration of watching waves of Allied aircraft depart on D-Day, and the euphoric celebrations of VE Day.

Her memories also reflect on life after the war, as she considers the costs of more recent conflicts. Antoinette’s story brings humour, candour, and humanity to a hidden corner of the Wrens’ wartime service.