As an evacuee, Frances McLaren was unable to go to university after leaving school at 18. Instead, on the advice of a friend’s father, she joined the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment, and so began her remarkable career. After completing her training, Frances started off in the lab, working on the development of hull launching tanks on seaplanes and landplanes, before progressing to flight tests in the Sunderland flying boats. Her career went from strength to strength and she talks in detail about her central role in one of Britain’s greatest bombing missions, the Dambusters Raid, and her work on the top-secret Highball (bouncing bomb) experiments. Frances was also involved in other experimental projects including those focused on survival, with one in particular being the development of flotation devices for planes ditching in water. She recalls with humour how she had to cajole others into joining her on some of her test missions. Frances’ extraordinary story provides an eye-opening insight into the myriad ways women played an active role in the war effort, sometimes at the cutting edge of innovation and development.

Sydney Adlam was a budding young sportsman when war broke out. It was at his local athletics club that he met a man by the name of Brady who introduced him to an altogether more explosive activity. Brady invited Sydney to join the Auxiliary Unit, a secret resistance network of highly trained volunteers, where he learnt how to assemble explosives, time pencils and switches, and to understand the workings of a hand grenade. Sydney recalls details of regular training sessions in Havant, Gosport and Aldershot, including a close encounter in a trench with a hand grenade dropped in error by his comrade but hurled to safety by the lightning-fast instructor nearby. Although the invasion never came, the Auxiliary Unit stood ever ready to disrupt and deter the enemy in defence of their homeland with the courage and bravery that came to define their generation.

Sandra Bremner comes from Ballyclare a small town in County Antrim, where she met her husband Sammy. Having served army in the 1970's and then in the prison service, he struggles with depression and PTSD. Sammy and Sandra have been involved with Help for Heroes' Band of Brothers and Band of Sisters for a few years now, and Sandra describes how much it has helped them both.