Born in Farnborough Hampshire, with relatives in the army and air force, Paddy was keen to enlist in the services. Told with much humour and affection, she recalls her time in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) from age seventeen in 1942. She began her two-week training to be an orderly at Overthorpe Hall in Banbury but was then asked to sign the Official Secrets Act. When asked about her hobbies she mentioned crossword puzzles and was sent to Grendon Underwood to work in the cipher office. Paddy volunteered to go to North Africa where she worked on Operation Monkey, coding and decoding messages from Italy to be sent to London about the Italian armistice. At Massingham in Algiers, a training centre for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) she decoded sometimes unclear wireless messages, working until they were deciphered. She recalls her satisfaction in making codes understandable, gaining writer’s cramp in the process, and tells anecdotes of her comradery with the other women working there. She returned to London where she worked as a coder on S.O.E Operation Periwig with Leo Marks at the Baker Street headquarters. Paddy arrived in Bombay on V.E Day. She witnessed servicemen returning from Burma and malnourished prisoners returning from the Siam railways, and laid on a reception for them as the war came to an end.

Bill Walworth discusses his early career in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. At the time of the Argentine invasion of South Georgia, he was studying at the Staff College in Greenwich but knew that tensions were escalating. He joined the stores ship Saxonia in April 1982, shortly after the sinking of HMS Sheffield and describes how wartime conditions altered the ship's operations. Adaptable to life aboard the Saxonia with its 28 crew, Bill details the ship’s role in storing and organising supplies. He recounts the Saxonia’s challenges, including the impact of the Atlantic Conveyor’s sinking and difficulties anchoring in South Georgia. Upon returning to Ascension, Bill drafted reports about the Royal Fleet Auxiliary [RFA] and began a distinguished career, reflecting on how the Falklands conflict shaped the RFA’s future role in the Royal Navy.

Philip Roberts started out in the naval section of the combined cadet force then joined the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. He had just turned 17. As Philip puts it, you start out as the “lowest of the low” and work your way up. He began as a deck apprentice and by 1982 was in command of his own ship, the Sir Galahad. Philip transports men and vehicles to the Norwegian fjords which was an indispensable time for learning the ship’s capabilities and handling, especially when it came to getting stuck in ice. From there, the Sir Galahad is called back to Plymouth ahead of the invasion of the Falklands Islands. Philip recalls in detail the make up and responsibilities of his crew and their feelings heading towards conflict. At one point they encounter such bad weather that the bow doors are damaged and need to be immediately repaired to prevent flooding. Philip is grateful for the team around him and their action, support and counsel. As well as bad weather, submarines and mines were real threats. Philip remembers a shocking encounter when a bomb lands on his ship very near to their ammunition but, incredibly, fails to explode. He manages to get everyone off the ship and the bomb is removed packed by Kellogg’s cornflakes before being sunk. The race is then on to ensure the Sir Galahad is watertight. After previously having been displeased at being taken to war, it is the Chinese crew who really muck in to bring the repaired ship back up to scratch and ready for service. Once back in action, Philip recalls another terrible attack when they come under fire from the airforce just as they were about to discharge a number of Welsh Guards at Fitzroy. Philip describes events in blistering detail. Tragically, 50 men lost their lives and many were injured. Philip returned to the Falklands in the early 1990s on the Grey Rover patrolling the islands. He reflects that the Falklands has been a big part of his life.