Morris Morby had been a regular soldier for a year in 36th Army Engineer Regiment when he volunteered for Korea in 1951. He recalls a pleasant journey by sea, marked by watching the porpoises playing round HMT Orwell and hearing the choir of a Welsh battalion in full voice. Once in Korea, the 3-day journey from Busan to Seoul was hair-raising, with rough tracks instead of roads. He then joined 28th Field Engineer Regiment as part of Stores Troop, ferrying defence and bridging stores from the railhead to the front line on the Imjin River. He was ‘under fire’ twice: on one occasion it turned out to be REME armourers testing Bren guns, unaware there were troops in front of them; on another, ammunition from tanks overshot when they fired at rafts that the Chinese were floating down-river to destroy bridges. He also recalls two deception operations: on one occasion he drove dummy tanks into the forward positions; on another, he was involved in building a huge netting tunnel to camouflage a road.

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.

David joined the military band at 16 as a trumpet player, enlisting in the Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards in 1976. He took up the clarinet and joined the band in Germany, where they faced some local hostility. In 1979, he became a ‘Kneller Boy,’ recalling fond memories of performances, including playing for Princess Margaret before a Summer Concert. David describes the various jobs band members had to undertake at Kneller Hall and later returned to Germany, where he briefly took up the Saxophone. He reflects on the challenges of the military’s promotion system, often referred to as the ‘dead man's shoes’ system, and eventually left the band to join the police. In 1995, David joined the Army Medical Services and was still invited to perform with the band on several occasions. He played extensively in the Gulf and former Soviet countries, which he believes helped strengthen diplomatic ties, particularly with nations like Jordan. David feels the band played a vital role in promoting British industries and easing international tensions and personally helped with his confidence.