Howard Ormerod provides an enthralling account of his service with Royal Navy supplies aboard the SS Atlantic Conveyor during the Falklands War. Already having a background in trade, Howard's introduction to the navy began after receiving a job at the naval supplies department as part of the Ministry of Defence. However, it would take him four years before finding himself at sea where he volunteered as a civil servant aboard the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. When war broke out in the Falklands, his services became valuable to the SS Atlantic Conveyor, commanded by Captain Ian North. Howard recalls the immensity of the ship, acting as a carrier not just for small items but also large vehicles. He was tasked with managing and protecting the stores onboard. During her voyage, the Conveyor managed to offload supplies to RFA Stromness at Ascension Island and later transferred Harriers to HMS Plymouth. Things were running smoothly until the carrier was hit by an Exocet missile. The situation became so disastrous that the crew was forced to abandon ship. Howard describes his thrilling escape, passing though rising smoke which obscured his view and falling into water after missing a life raft beneath him. Ironically, the same life raft came on top of him at one point, nearly drowning him. His life had briefly flashed before his eyes. After being rescued by HMS Alacrity, Howard noticed that many of the stores were caught in the destruction and even more tragically, the loss of human lives, including the captain himself, Ian North. Following the catastrophe, Howard was sent home by aircraft, an experience he reflects on despairingly. After the Falklands, he would continue his naval supplies career for another three years before moving into accountancy. Despite having no regrets, Howard's brief time in the Falklands War made him wish that some things had gone differently and that more people recognised the success of the civil servants who helped in the offloading of stores. His interview reflects their bravery and achievements in the navy during the conflict.

CONTENT WARNING This interview contains some strong language and graphic descriptions of war casualties, wartime violence and fatalities that some readers may find upsetting. If you are affected by these topics, please consider seeking support from a trusted person or organisation.   Tom Howard’s interview offers a vivid, deeply personal account of his varied and often perilous military service. He begins by reflecting on his transition into the Army and initial training, before being posted to Northern Ireland during a period of intense unrest. He recalls arriving at Musgrave Park Hospital on a day marked by 18 car bombs and describes duties defending police stations and participating in Operation Motorman to dismantle IRA barricades. His reflections include a disturbing revelation that a former friend had joined the IRA. After earning his wings through P Company, Tom joined the 7th Parachute Regiment, taking part in covert operations and jungle training in Malaya. Later, as a medic with the Army Medical Corps, he was deployed to the Falklands. There, he helped establish a field hospital under daily bombardment. Despite severe personal sacrifices, including two failed marriages, Tom remains proud of his service. His testimony is marked by courage, honesty, and resilience.

Having joined the Navy first as an engineer, then as a Seaman Officer, Malcolm had reached the position of Lieutenant Commander Staff Officer and was incredibly busy on the HMS Antrim taking part in Exercise Spring Train by Gibraltar when they starting to hear rumblings about what was happening in the South Atlantic. It then came as no surprise when they were mobilised to head south. Malcolm recalls that there was initially a degree of making things up as they went along as they didn’t know what to expect and nobody, except one Royal Marines Officer, had ever been to the Falklands. One of Malcolm’s jobs was to work on deception tactics such as laying chaff around this ships to appear a larger flotilla and charting a course which looked like they might actually be heading for Argentina. At Ascension, Malcolm transfers to HMS Hermes where he recalls a frenzied race for better sleeping conditions when the Admiral said the officers could share his cabin which included the luxury of a double bed and shower. During this time, Malcolm had two main responsibilities. When on watch he was the Anti-Submarine Warfare Screen Coordinator and when not on watch he managed communications, including highly classified messages. He vividly recalls hearing the tragedy of the Sheffield directly through his headphones but that they only had a brief time to reflect before pushing on with their jobs. Malcolm describes some of their biggest challenges being rudimentary communication, lack of advance warning about airborne attacks and confusion which could arise from the three services not really having collaborated since WWII. He also remembers the tragedies of helicopter crashes and a Harrier exploding, he thinks it was often luck that meant things weren’t worse. Malcolm says it was difficult readjusting to life at home and is grateful to the public who offered members of the task group free holidays. It was a week in Wales with his family, away from home and work, that finally helped him decompress. He reflects that the Falklands will probably have been the last time the Royal Navy will fight a fleet action in that way.

Philip’s career at sea has covered a range of experiences including working his way up from cadet to third mate on a cargo shop and a summer season on a hovercraft, which he calls “the original vomit comet” making journeys across the Channel. He joined the Queen Elizabeth II in 1978 and spent 10 years working onboard. Philip was meant to be on leave when the ship was requisitioned to attend the Falklands but he honourably stepped up and offered to swap with a married man. As a Cunard employee, but having spent time in the Royal Navy Reserves, Philip was well placed to become the Liaison Officer between ship operations and the military. He describes in detail the changes made to the QE2 to make the ship ready for transporting over 3000 troops and the technical difficulties they had to surmount. He also recalls the press interest in the ship and how visiting dignitaries, such as the Foreign Secretary, would have to be accommodated. Philip says the mix of personnel worked well and most people rehearsed a number of roles due to the uncertainty ahead, in particular, the Gurkha troops were incredibly diligent in practicing evacuation drills. The closer they get, the more the reality hits of what is ahead as they receive news of casualties and sunken warships. Icebergs are a real threat too and having to travel without radar (in case of detection) was risky. One treacherously foggy day a Cunard officer switched the radar back on and just as well he did because it alerted them to icebergs all around. Even anchoring the ship at Grytviken was dangerous as the water was so deep. Philip is able to recall in detail the operations taking place followed by a complex refuelling process to get them home safely. The return was very emotional as they were the first major ship to get back and carrying hundreds of survivors. They were welcomed home by the Queen Mother. Philip reflects that this time was a huge adventure and not something he could ever have imagined being part of as a normal Merchant Navy sailor.

Jeff York offers a gripping tale of his service as a Sonar operator aboard HMS Spartan during the Falklands War. Raised in Northampton, Jeff grew up far from the sea. His first sample of seamanship began after becoming a member of the Sea Cadets. However, at the young age of sixteen, he received permission to enlist in the Royal Navy, seeing it as the natural course for his career. Even before his basic training, Jeff was determined to become a submariner, recalling a trip to Portsmouth where he went down in a submarine. From that moment, he was hooked. Once he was given the choice, he joined HMS Dolphin to do his submarine training. During this period, he served aboard ships from HMS Sceptre to HMS Aurora in the Mediterranean before being assigned to HMS Spartan, a new type of submarine which had a trial system implemented. During an exercise in the Bay of Biscay, the Ship's captain, Jim Taylor received an order to head for Gibraltar to make preparations for something. The young crew remained oblivious all throughout until Taylor revealed that they were preparing to join the Task Force in defending the Falklands from Argentinian rebels. HMS Spartan would become one of the first vessels to reach the islands. Jeff describes some of the ship's systems, including a dependable sonar which was used to locate enemy targets from a long range. He discusses the difficulties of being in unfamiliar waters, from the uncertainty of submarine combat to facing many navigational problems. The crew was not immune to a sense of confusion and vulnerability, feelings that increased after the loss of HMS Sheffield. Their unfamiliarity led to many precarious situations, including the ship getting trapped in a forest of kelp which jammed their systems. This posed a serious threat to the Spartan since it was fuelled by a nuclear power source. Despite these hardships, the crew managed to pull through, benefited by the strong comradery shared among everyone onboard. Jeff reflects on the overlooked contributions of submariners, taking pride in their obscurity whenever the topic of the  Falklands War is brought up in a conversation. His interview reveals their importance to the War effort as well as providing a glimpse into how submarine warfare changed during the period.

Stories of the Korean war by the men who experienced it.

Rachel Webster served all over the world with the RMP (Royal Military Police), including deployments in Northern Ireland during The Conflicts and in Afghanistan during the 2001 allied invasion. After completing an apprenticeship in welding she wanted to join the Royal Engineers, but she was laughed out of the recruiting office for being a “girl”. After some consideration, she decided to join the RMP instead. She completed her basic training with the WRAC (Women's Royal Army Corps), and did further training with the RMP before being deployed to Germany. In her interview she discusses the challenges of being a female within the military and the challenges of trying to keep up with the frontline military units she was supporting. She talks about her experience of integrating herself into a very male dominated space, and how she became someone who the men could confide in during difficult times. Rachel talks about being deployed to Bosnia and Kosovo with the Green Howards, remembering it as her toughest deployment. The atrocities she witnessed over there are something that she has never forgotten, needing counselling when she returned home to help her emotionally come to terms about what she witnessed over there. One of her proudest moments was deploying to Iraq in 2003, where she helped build a local girls' school, impressing the Iraqi men with her welding skills and forming strong relationships with the locals. After being put up for commission, she supported 1st Battalion, The Rifles in Afghanistan as a regimental admin officer, the highlight of her career. After 24 years, she left the military for a new challenge.

George Higgins delivers a captivating tale of his travels as a soldier during the 1940s and 1950s. Growing up in London, George first joined the military at the age of twelve (lying that he was fourteen) where he became a runner for the Home Guard. He was forced to keep it a secret from his father who was, at first, adamantly against the idea of a military career after he received a low pension from serving in WWI. When he finally turned eighteen, George enlisted with the Royal Engineers before transferring to the Royal Artillery. In 1948, he was awoken early one morning by an officer, announcing that was being sent to Hong Kong. He remembers a tumultuous voyage to the east. At one point, he was taken ill after developing kidney problems, something which became a reoccurring liability during his service. Arriving in Hong Kong, he recalls defending the border against the Chinese who were trying to cross the Sham Chum River. However, he saw little action. Soon war in Korea erupted and he decided to volunteer for the Middlesex Regiment. Landing during the winter, George was faced with unpleasant conditions. Much of his experience consisted of hiding in trenches where there was less combat and more sleeping. Food became a constant struggle and the British lacked the equipment to keep clean and sustain warmth. Despite these issues, he was saddened after he was eventually invalided from Korea when his kidney problems returned. A few years later, he joined the regiment in Cyprus during the Cyprus Emergency. The Greek General Georgios Grivus had begun a war of independence against the British and the troops were tasked with reducing the riots. He remembers the confusion of a terrorist war, fought at close quarters, and finding it hard to distinguish who was a terrorist and who wasn't. This confusion led to one incident where an innocent elderly lady on a donkey was shot in a case of mistaken identity. Tragically, the conflict’s toll also affected his personal life; George's wife was with him in Cyprus, but amid the constant strain, she suffered a miscarriage, which led to her decision to return to England. She asked him to accompany her, and though it meant leaving the military, he agreed. Sadly, they later separated. Despite these hardships, he remembers his military years fondly, always finding humour even in challenging times. George's interview captures the harsh realities and strengths of being a soldier; forced to accept one's mortality and the consequences of their actions while managing to retain courage and optimism.

Frank Bewley, born in London in 1931, joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in 1948 and was initially posted to RNAS Culdrose, where he recalls early trials of jets landing without undercarriage. He volunteered for Korea and joined 821 Squadron, which trained at RAF Makrihanish before heading to Korea in 1952. He served on HMS Glory, which flew old World War II Firefly 5s for ground support. He was responsible for maintaining his assigned aircraft and had a close relationship with his pilot, Lieutenant Barrett. Initially unfamiliar with Korea, he learned about its history through old World War II books. He found HMS Glory more friendly than other ships, but prone to rolling. He describes the challenges of working on the flight deck, where a lot of maintenance and arming work was completed, in inclement weather and the camaraderie among the crew. They still operated on messdecks containing up to 14 men, sleeping in hammocks and collecting food form the galley, rather than having a central canteen.

At 18 years old Bill Hurst joined the 1st King's Liverpool Regiment as a national serviceman, and describes how his initial training as a driver ultimately led him to fighting in Korea, a country he had never heard of. Bill recalls the terror of the shelling, and the shared realisation amongst the soldiers that they might not be returning home. In one particularly moving moment, he remembers the fear of being sent over the top and the shrapnel he took in his knee as a result of enemy fire. He also reflects on the huge loss of young men during this war, and how it has been largely forgotten as a war. However, Bill maintains the importance of remembering the funnier moments and shares fond memories of the friends he made, and the end of the war where they all knew they would be going home. Remembering the Battle of the Hook, Bill makes clear that he tried to keep his head down and survive the never-ending barrage of shells. His interview provides an authentic account of the Korean war and the reality of life in the trenches.

In 1951, Norfolk-born John Lincoln volunteered for National Service. He was trained in Norfolk and Hong Kong before being shipped to Korea. John was recruited to the Royal Fusiliers after spending two weeks with the Black Watch. In the Fusiliers, he served as a stretcher bearer and jeep driver. John recalls life on the hills of Korea; he experienced frostbite, regular shelling’s, and – as a stretcher bearer – treacherous journeys into no man’s land to recover wounded soldiers. He recounts being hit by shrapnel whilst on duty and details how this still affects him today. John talks about the battle of the Hook and how he was stationed in a nearby wireless post. He speaks of the horror of hearing the battle, and the awful scenes the following morning. John goes on to briefly recall life on Hill 355 (Kowang San), specifically his use of the “Flying Fox” a Royal Engineer-made cable car which could transport soldiers up and down Gibraltar Hill – making his life much easier! Today, he laments the idea of a “forgotten war” as any soldiers lucky enough to survive still bear the physical and psychological scars from Korea.

Michael Fryer joined the National Service at 18 and after completing basic training, he chose to specialise in bomb disposal with the Royal Engineers. Later, he was deployed to Korea and boarded the HMT Lancashire for the journey. He flew into Korea on a Globemaster, then took the train to Seoul. He travelled to the frontline, joining up with the 55th Field Regiment, based at the 38th Parallel. Michael's duties included bomb disposal along the Imjin River. During the Battle of the Hook, he also took on the dangerous task of transporting ammunition to and from the frontlines. The Chinese forces swarmed over the hills, only to be cut down by machine gun fire. He fondly remembers his Rest and Recuperation in Incheon and Tokyo. This was a time for soldiers to rest, eat nice food, and experience Japanese culture. Whilst in Tokyo he stayed at The Kookaburra Club in the Ebisu Camp. Michael was demobbed in June 1953, he travelled home aboard HMS Fowey. Returning home was very hard, and later in life he realised he had been suffering with PTSD.

Gilbert Beck’s journey into military music began humbly in rural Oxfordshire, where his father brought home a grand piano from a local market, sparking a lifelong passion. Raised in a musical family, Gilbert sang in the church choir and played organ before joining the Army in 1948 as a band boy with the Royal Artillery. Trained at Woolwich and later Kneller Hall, Gilbert played double bass, tuba, and bass trombone, eventually joining the North Staffordshire Regiment. His musical service took him across Europe and into the Korean War, where he played a vital role in maintaining morale. From conducting services with a portable organ to performing for multinational troops, including Canadians and Americans, his music helped bridge cultural divides in a devastated landscape. In Korea, Gilbert played at the dedication of a tented village for displaced civilians and led hymns at makeshift services in Gloucester Valley. His experience highlighted the humanising power of music amid the harshness of war. Later selected for the demanding bandmaster course at Kneller Hall, Gilbert's talent earned him great respect, even as he ultimately chose family life over a full military career. Music remained central to Gilbert’s life, both in and out of uniform - a true servant of harmony in service and in peace.

Andrée Dumon's first encounters with evaders were exciting because she realised the danger she was putting herself in. Working full-time for the Resistance, she guided English soldiers across the Pyrenees Mountains. Nearing her 20th birthday she was arrested with her parents in Brussels but refused to divulge information despite German police threats. Her bravery and  determination were crucial attributes during her imprisonment. Following her 1942 capture, her sister Michou took her place in the Resistance, showing similar characteristics. After her 1945 liberation, she battled typhus in an English hospital, again displaying remarkable resilience. Andrée reflects on her experiences during the D-Day landings and post-war involvement with the English.