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A veteran interview with

John Sleep

John Sleep gives an emotional account of his Second World War service. He served with the Royal Berkshires, the Parachute Regiment and in Normandy

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About John Sleep

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Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker

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Home | Veterans | John Sleep

A veteran interview with

John Sleep

john-sleep

John Sleep gives an emotional account of his Second World War service. He served with the Royal Berkshires, the Parachute Regiment and in Normandy

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

Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Sleep, John. A Veteran Interview with John Sleep. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, 22 Jun. 2016 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/john-sleep/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.
APA Style:
Sleep, J. (2016, June 22). A Veteran Interview with John Sleep [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved April 27, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/john-sleep/
Chicago Style:
Sleep, John. 2016. A Veteran Interview with John Sleep. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, June 22. Accessed April 27, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/john-sleep/
Harvard Style:
Sleep, J. (2016). A Veteran Interview with John Sleep. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee, 22 June. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/john-sleep/ (Accessed: 27 April 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Sleep, J. A Veteran Interview with John Sleep [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; 2016 Jun 22 [cited 2025 Apr 27]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/john-sleep/
An interview with

Karen Mallion

Karen's interview is a powerful account of the trailblazing attitude of many WRAC women.

In this interview Karen shares an inspiring story which began with her passion for sports and a determination to transgress the roles available to women in the army. Although she began her WRAC journey as a chef, she had plans to be a Physical Training Instructor and it was only after serving two years in Cyprus as a cook that she applied for her second trade. Karen describes how she passed the initial selection but suffered an unfortunate ankle injury which prevented her from completing the specialised PTI training. Feeling lost after her injury, she recalls the frustration she began to feel with the options available to women in the WRAC and considered leaving. Therefore, for Karen, the disbandment of the WRAC came as a sign that she and many other women alike could move forward and beyond the restraints of female specific roles. At Deep Cut she trialled for the military training instructors course with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, and in her interview describes the constant discrimination she faced in such a male dominated field. Karen became the first female instructor and went on to serve as Sergeant Major in Bosnia, Macedonia and Iraq before her career was ended by misfortune. This interview provides an example of one of the many trailblazing veterans of the WRAC.
Photo Gallery icon 16 Photos
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Julia M Crockett

Julia describes her time with the Intelligence Corps both within and beyond the WRAC.

Originating from a military background, Julia recalls how it was somewhat inevitable that would serve in the army. After excelling in the aptitude tests, she was offered a position in the Intelligence Corps. In her interview Julia remembers finding the transition into army life difficult and struggled with the uniform due to both its impracticality and restrictiveness. Additionally, she found the climate of fear surrounding the IRA shocking and saw many women horrified by threats they either personally, or by an extension of their trade, received. Julia was posted to former West Germany with the 13th Signal Regiment where she worked alongside Signals Personnel. Within this role she would map the movement of troops in East Germany and flag Russian tanks, and being her first time overseas, she reflects on this period as particularly exciting. After leaving in 1975, Julia went on to join the MET as she felt there were more equal opportunities for women in organisation's that didn't restrict roles to gender. She continued to work for the Intelligence Corps at GCHQ on the Palestinian desk for many years. Reflecting on the WRAC, Julia describes the potency of class divisions within the military and her frustrations with the gendered restrictions. She maintains however that the fundamentals of the WRAC gave her the determination to continue her work in intelligence and commends the importance of documenting a history of female veterans.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Katherine McMullin

Katherine describes her time as a driver for the WRAC.

From a young age Katherine knew she wanted to travel and when offered the opportunity to join the Royal Corps of Transport, she signed with the army. At nineteen she left for Guildford and speaks fondly of her time at the training base, in particular her passing out parade which she describes as an incredibly surreal experience. Although her trade training was postponed due to the Mill Hill Bombing in 1988, she soon became part of the team at Bovington Training Centre that drove new officers fresh from Sandhurst who were on their Tactical Exercise Without Troops (TEWT) training. Later she was moved to Rheindahlen 68 Squadron where she met different soldiers from the UN and NATO and remembers this as the best tour she served whilst in the army. During this tour she witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall and contributed to the peacekeeping duties in Czechoslovakia. In 1991 Katherine recalls troops being sent to Iraq and the importance of her work behind the front lines in the rear party. She provides great detail of one particular mission which developed from an initial twenty-four hour drive to an almost three week task of shipping ammunition to the Gulf. From here she was posted to Northern Ireland where she worked as both a driver and searcher for IRA bombs. Following the disbandment of the WRAC Katherine returned to work in Germany with the onset of the Bosnian war, and worked as a driver until she left in 1995. Katherine's interview offers an insightful overview of different experiences of WRAC women and gives an authentic account of the many adversities women faced in the army.
Photo Gallery icon 16 Photos
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker