Harry Eddy was born in Devon and joined the Navy in 1943. Following training in Letchworth and Troon, he passed as a wireman and was posted to the LCT-944 (landing craft tank) in readiness for the D-Day landings. Harry describes in detail life aboard his LCT and the responsibilities of his role, recalling the horrors of war and the Navy’s perhaps rather shocking approach to recruits who abandoned their posts during the height of battle. He also remembers how an attempt by his crew to rescue a stricken landing craft from Sword Beach nearly sank his own ship, leaving him lucky to make it back to Britain alive. After the liberation of France, Harry recalls how he and his shipmates headed for Westkapelle, a coastal town in the Netherlands, where the promised and much-relied-upon air support didn’t arrive. In his own words, “It made D-Day look easy.” Harry also shares his memories of VE Day, and joyfully recalls an emotional reunion at a meeting of the LST and Landing Craft Association with his best friend from the war who he hadn’t seen for 40 years.

When Joe Pitcher was called up into the Royal Navy in 1941, his military career began at HMS Glendower, a training facility preparing sailors for service on defensively equipped merchant ships (DEMS). Throughout his ensuing service, Joe sailed on the coastal, Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific convoys. He shares his memories of how it felt each time he changed ship and had to get used to working with a completely new crew, and adapting to the ship’s life and rules. He also remembers with wry humour a number of near misses along the way, including a scramble to find an ammunition locker stopcock, dodging a bullet from a round accidentally fired off by a young sailor in the mess, and surviving two separate torpedo hits on the same ship. Joe’s service ended in Singapore where the true horrors of war were brought into sharp focus when the hospital ship he was on took aboard countless near-to-death POWs. With great modesty, Joe says he was glad to have been able to do his bit, and shares with deep emotion his gratitude for surviving the war when so many others weren’t so lucky.

John Ramage was born in Bromley, South East London, and spent his childhood in Gravesend, North Kent. He attended King's School Rochester and was encouraged by his parents to pursue a career in medicine, despite having no doctors in the family. He attended medical school at Westminster Hospital in King's College, qualifying in 1978. He joined the Navy, initially serving with the Marines from 1979 to 1982. As the only doctor in a Commando unit (and later on a fighting ship), John faced significant responsibilities, making critical decisions without external support. His deployment to Northern Ireland was particularly challenging, involving high-risk situations such as responding to bombings and shootings. John joined HMS Antelope in 1982, a relatively new ship with a well-stocked sickbay. Despite having no prior experience with warships, his previous combat and trauma experience proved invaluable. Antelope’s deployment to the Falklands was initially thought to be brief. However, the sinking of sister ships and the reality of combat made it clear they were in an increasingly dangerous situation. During the conflict, HMS Antelope was hit by several bombs, leading to severe injuries and fatalities among the crew and to her eventual dramatic sinking.  John and his team provided critical medical care under extremely challenging conditions whilst the ship was heavily on fire. They were amongst the last to leave Antelope before she exploded. After leaving the service, John reflects on his training and the challenges faced during the Falklands conflict, acknowledging the inadequacies in preparation for such intense situations. During his further career, he specialised in gastrointestinal and liver diseases, continuing in various hospitals and furthering his abilities and medical knowledge. Rising to become a Professor and senior medical expert.