Dee Palmer was raised in a mining community near Wolverhampton. Born with autism and gender dysphoria, she struggled with her identify from an early age. After a childhood full of scrapes and misbehaviour, Dee sought the advice of a neighbour and decided to enlist in the army, joining the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards. Dee shares her early memories of life in the regiment, including a year spent at Kneller Hall which saw her become assistant principal clarinet of the Royal Horse Guards Band, despite not being a clarinettist before entering the school. Dee also talks in detail about the unique skills required to play an instrument whilst riding a horse, remembering the good times, the bad, and one shockingly tragic incident in which a runaway horse cost a soldier his life. After becoming disillusioned with the army, Dee left and found success with the band Jethro Tull. She ends her interview with a fascinating insight into the opportunities that opened up to her once her military career was over.

Born and raised in Sheffield, Yorkshire, Ann had a practical streak and a good sense of adventure. In the late 1930s, after reading about the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) in a Territorial Army magazine, she and her close friend Lois Ragg decided to join. The organisation appealed to her — hands-on, disciplined, and useful. She trained in map reading, engine maintenance, and gas attack procedures, and took part in pre-war camps, one memorably inspected by Princess Alice. When war broke out, Ann was called up to Northern Command in York, later serving with the 2nd Air Cavalry Division near Nottingham. When the FANY became part of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), she stayed on, completing officer training in Edinburgh and earning her commission. Her wartime service took her across Britain, from northern headquarters to the southern coast, including a key posting in Dorset where she managed transport and logistics for anti-aircraft units, a demanding job she handled with steady efficiency. Later, she transferred to the Education Corps before her discharge in 1945. After the war, Ann’s resourcefulness found a new outlet. She co-founded Decor Studios Limited in London, producing lampshades at a time when the city was rebuilding and reinventing itself. She later married and settled into family life, carrying with her the same calm capability and sense of purpose that had defined her service years. The publication of this previously unseen interview was made possible thanks to a grant from The Gerry Holdsworth Special Forces Charity, to mark 80 years since the closure of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in January 1946.