From a rural background working with tractors, John was first conscripted into the Royal Horse Artillery then, after a period of training in Germany, was transferred to the 20^th Field Regiment and on to Korea. John vividly remembers the journey to Pusan (now Busan) and arrival at Christmastime 1952. He describes how the area had been devastating by the war. John was a Linesman and responsible for repairing damaged wires between the guns and the infantry. He showed incredibly bravery as this work could often be at night and risked mortar attack if the enemy saw their lights. Despite this, John loved this work. John was then sent to the Hook for observation duties and was there for the Third Battle of the Hook in May 1953 which he recalls in detail. The Hook was a ridge which offered a valuable position and John describes how thousands of Chinese soldiers were sent to try and take it. The firing was intense, including napalm from American aeroplanes, which John expresses reservations about the use of. John was in Korea for the armistice and was demobbed close to Christmas that year. Reflecting on the war, John says he is glad they were sent to help. He has since returned to South Korea and is impressed with the nation’s growth and modernity.

Brian Hough retells how he fought in Korea with the King's Regiment, his national service being his rare chance to see the world as well as what was planned for someone with a working class background. His regiment went through intensive training to prepare for the Korean War but Brian’s rough upbringing and his familiarity with discipline from school made it manageable.  Brian grew up with no hot water or upstairs electricity but that was nothing compared to the level of poverty he witnessed in Korea; the lack of sanitation, outdated technology and crowds of starving children made it seem like he'd gone back in time. Upon arriving at the trenches, he was apprehensive but got on with it due to being conditioned to believe everything would be okay if he followed his training and did what he was told.  After an invasion of the King’s Regiment's trenches, Brian saw hundreds of fiercely fanatical Chinese soldiers charging toward them, making hand to hand combat seem inevitable. Before Brian could panic, his commander bravely ordered artillery fire on the Chinese despite how close they were but miraculously none of the shells fell short and hit them. The King’s Regiment received battle honours for the role they played in bringing democracy to South Korea and Brian was amazed to see how quickly they then began advancing.

Gordon Smith shares an emotional account of his WWII experiences, starting with memories of the Blitz. As a Royal Engineer he was involved in the secretive construction of the Mulberry Harbours, a massive project involving over 40,000 people and 13 million cubic meters of concrete. On D-Day, Gordon landed on Sword Beach and recalls fighting the enemy and his friends! He recalls the severe impact on Calais, which was heavily bombed by the 10th Panzer Division in May 1940, fortified by Germans, and used as a V1 Flying Bomb launch site. In February 1945, he was haunted by a British bombing mistake on Calais. He is also posted to the Far East and describes the Changi POW camp, where the Japanese held 50,000 POWs in the British Army's Selarang Barracks. Gordon reflects on the war's profound effect on him, despite feeling fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time.