James Bisiker served in the Royal Marines as part of 40 Commando. He recalls the intense physical demands, particularly during harsh conditions in places like Dartmoor, where the group faced severe weather and tragically lost a fellow trainee to hypothermia. In 1948, he endured a rough crossing to Malta and continued to North Africa and eventually to Palestine. He recalls the chaos in Haifa as Israel became a state. The tense atmosphere and waiting for possible attacks from militant groups put him on edge every day. James reminisces fondly about the inclusivity within the Marines, where soldiers of different backgrounds, including Jewish, Black, and even openly gay comrades, were accepted and treated equally. His time in the Marines instilled a deep sense of pride and achievement. Despite the hardships, he and his comrades became a close group, forming strong bonds through shared experiences.

After serving in the Home Guard and experiencing bombing in the blitz in London, Cornelius Snelling was conscripted into the Royal Navy in 1942 and carried out his basic training on HMS Ganges at Shotley. From his port division, Chatham, he was assigned his first posting, as a Bosun’s mate, to a newly commissioned ship docked at Glasgow, HMS Wild Goose, a Black Swan-class sloop. HMS Wild Goose specialised in anti-submarine patrols in the North Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay and Snelling took part in some of the ship's most notable actions, including the renowned "six in one trip" in 1943, which saw HMS Wild Goose, alongside other Bird-class sloops, sink six German U-boats in a single patrol. Snelling’s final journey aboard HMS Wild Goose was participating in an Arctic convoy to Murmansk and he describes the extreme conditions. In 1944, Snelling transferred to HMS Tyler, an American-built frigate on loan to the Royal Navy. HMS Tyler conducted patrol and escort missions in the North Atlantic and the English Channel, where it also escorted landing craft and supply ships during the D-Day invasion of the Normandy beaches. Snelling's service concluded in October 1945 when he steamed with HMS Tyler back to the United States, where the ship was returned to the US Navy.

When war broke out, 14-year-old Joy Aylard was evacuated to the countryside for two happy years, before leaving school and returning to London to study at college until she was old enough to join up. As soon as she could, she joined the WRNS and was almost immediately sent to Bletchley Park’s Eastcote Outstation. Joy describes in detail the top-secret work involved in operating the Bombe machines to decipher German Enigma messages, remembering the boost to morale that came when successful results of their codebreaking efforts were filtered back to them. Reflecting on the intense secrecy surrounding the work, Joy explains that everyone just got used to not talking about what they were doing; not even Joy’s father knew what her job entailed! Joy’s reflections on her time during the war allow us a vivid glimpse into life behind the walls at Bletchley Park, and the technical skill, dedication and discretion of all who worked there and played such a pivotal role in the Allied war effort.