Joining during the Second World War, Betty was sent to train at the Welsh Barracks near Wrexham. After performing well in her tests, she was sent to interview with the Intelligence Corps in London. She remembers being immediately taken to sign the Official Secrets Act and proceed to working in listing translated messages in Bletchley. It was at this posting that she discovered her talent for paraphrasing, and from this point onwards was given the task of paraphrasing translated enemy messages to be sent on to Burma. Remarkably, Betty was then sent to work in the Pentagon before moving to the British Army Staff base in Washington DC. In her interview she describes the lack of news made available to American civilians surrounding the war in Europe, and her frustration at the lack of understanding future employment had on the highly classified status of her military work. When asked her thoughts on the disbandment of the WRAC, Betty felt disappointed that there was no longer a women's army as she enjoyed the independent identification of the female corps.

Having been born and brought up in Chester, Neville enlisted in 1951, at aged 21, in the Welch Fusiliers following completion of a civil engineering apprenticeship. Early on in his training, Neville was promoted to Lance Corporal and eventually became a signaller. He describes how early on, he sensed they were being prepared for battle although when he was told that they were going to Korea, like many others, he didn’t know anything about the country. Following arrival in Korea, he and his compatriots underwent a 48-hour train journey, during which Neville describes learning about the Korean People. He tells of a great admiration for them, their skills and their hard work. Initially stationed in Pioneer Hill on the 38th Parallel, his account describes in detail the hugely challenging conditions under which they lived and fought, much of it like WWI. His narrative offers powerful insights into the trials associated with fighting, the personal impact and the ways in which soldiers were supported. He also highlights the factors that enable survival in these conditions, including the value of the close bond forged between soldiers. Finally, he offers his reflections on the necessity of war.