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.

Elizabeth’s first job was at British Airways in Bristol. One of her main responsibilities there involved fire watching, where she had to deal with small fires. After a while, Elizabeth decided to leave her role at British Airways, but as it was a reserved role during the war, it took over a year for her to leave. Following this, Elizabeth moved to London hoping to join the WRNS (Women's Royal Naval Service), but due to there being no vacancies, she ended up joining the FANYs (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry), January 1944. She went on to work in the SOE (Special Operations Executive) organisation in Baker street. Part of her training took her to Cranwell, where she was trained to use teleprinting machines. She remembers going on a trip to Italy with a senior FANY member. The trip there took longer than usual, due to the convoy taking a longer route in order to avoid submarines. Her role in Italy was as a typist, she remembers typing up information for supply drops scheduled to be sent to Yugoslavia and Poland. Elizabeth’s time there came to an end when she injured her back. The journey home was on a hospital ship, a Flying Fortress. The pilot called her to the cockpit, and once in the air, she was tasked with flying the aircraft, whilst the pilot went off to play poker. At some point during the flight, the pilot came back and showed Elizabeth Monte Cassino. She was shocked at the state of the place, it’s something she’ll never forget. After this, she spent some time at the FANY headquarters. Whilst there, Elizabeth learnt of a job opening as a personal assistant for the Australian Military Mission in Berlin. She got the job and went to Berlin, she was shocked at the state of the city. She worked out of a place in Charlottenburg, right next door to a house that was used by the Gestapo. Elizabeth remembers how starved the German civilians were at the time and how upsetting it was.

Ann Bonsor shares her experience of joining the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) and undergoing complex training as a wireless telegraphist. Despite challenging shifts in confined spaces, Ann and her colleagues enjoyed their work. Sent to various locations including Algiers, Corsica, the south of France, and Sicily, they also worked at SOE bases in London and Cairo. Many women couldn't keep up, but Ann persevered, maintaining both her position and an active social life. Her time with FANY was exciting but also a reminder of the serious nature of their work. After 15 months in North Africa, Ann was transferred to SOE in Bari and then Sienna. As work slowed, she set up an educational course for younger FANY members. Ann fondly recalls her time in FANY as a tremendously rich experience.