Reg was called up to the army in February 1942 and posted to the infantry. While in Dover he recalls shelling from German long-range guns across the Channel. In July 1944 he joined his unit south of Caen and saw death close-up when four men near him were killed. During the Battle of the Falaise Gap he remembers the stench and decay from the hundreds of human and animal corpses. By now his battalion had suffered fifty percent casualties and was brought back up to full strength. One time an infantryman jumped out of his trench and ran toward the German lines and was killed, a condition they called ‘Bomb Happy’. On Christmas Eve 1944, his unit was ordered to support American troops engaged in the Battle of the Bulge. When his unit reached Germany the fighting became even tougher, although the population preferred the western Allies to the Soviets.

When war broke out, Joan was initially in Civil Defence. However, after two years she was called up to the Auxiliary Territorial Service at the age of twenty-two; this was the women’s branch of the Army. She was sent to London for training, where she learned how to drive an ambulance. Joan was posted to Edinburgh where the barracks were so cold she slept with her greatcoat on. Later she drove her ambulance during the bombing of London. Just before D-day she remembers seeing huge columns of tanks and other vehicles, in preparation for the landings. After the invasion there were a lot more wounded to take to hospitals but the casualties decreased toward the end of the war. In Aldershot her barracks was bombed, and she also remembers the rations of unpleasant marrow jam and horse meat. She used to swap her cigarette ration for sweets. Like many others, once the war was over she missed the camaraderie of the Army. Thank you Joan for sharing your memories at the wonderful age of 107!

Joan Nicholls left school at only fourteen and concealed her age to enlist in the ATS. After undergoing rigorous testing and training at Fenham Barracks and Trowbridge, she arrived at Beaumanor Hall in March 1942. Joan describes the design and operation of the Beaumanor Y-Station and its significance to the Ultra cryptography project. She listened to and recorded German Morse transmissions, which were relayed to Station X (Bletchley Park) for decoding. Joan followed General Erwin Rommel throughout North Africa until the pivotal battle of El-Alamein, while catching snippets of other transmissions from Nazi Concentration Camps and the aftermath of D-Day. She describes developing a familiarity and respect for the German transmitters and the cat-and-mouse games of chasing them through different frequencies. Throughout the interview, Joan emphasises the importance of keeping her role a secret, even from those closest to her. It is only decades later that the Y-Service's efforts and sacrifices are publicly acknowledged. Unfortunately, she was never able to tell her father the true nature of her work.