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.

Brian Hough retells how he fought in Korea with the King's Regiment, his national service being his rare chance to see the world as well as what was planned for someone with a working class background. His regiment went through intensive training to prepare for the Korean War but Brian’s rough upbringing and his familiarity with discipline from school made it manageable.  Brian grew up with no hot water or upstairs electricity but that was nothing compared to the level of poverty he witnessed in Korea; the lack of sanitation, outdated technology and crowds of starving children made it seem like he'd gone back in time. Upon arriving at the trenches, he was apprehensive but got on with it due to being conditioned to believe everything would be okay if he followed his training and did what he was told.  After an invasion of the King’s Regiment's trenches, Brian saw hundreds of fiercely fanatical Chinese soldiers charging toward them, making hand to hand combat seem inevitable. Before Brian could panic, his commander bravely ordered artillery fire on the Chinese despite how close they were but miraculously none of the shells fell short and hit them. The King’s Regiment received battle honours for the role they played in bringing democracy to South Korea and Brian was amazed to see how quickly they then began advancing.

At university, Audrey joined the Officer Training Corps which ultimately led her to join the army when she graduated. Due to her experience, Audrey never enrolled in basic training but was instead sent to the WRAC school of instruction. She was then posted to Shoeburyness as a Commander, then Singapore, and then to the new Duchess of Kent Barracks as Commanding Officer. Audrey also discusses growing IRA threats, and recalls the horror of experiencing the Aldershot bombing in 1972. Her career continued to flourish and she went to Army Staff College where she was the only woman out of one hundred men. Audrey proceeded to be posted at Shrewsbury as Senior Personnel Officer, then to the doctorate where she wrote employment papers for the WRAC, then the BAOR, and the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Audrey's work in the WRAC was fundamental to its evolution and she was involved in the crucial integration of weapons training into the female corps. She felt strongly that women should be given opportunities and went on to design the selection tests for officers admittance to Staff College. A true trailblazer, we thank Audrey for her inspiring interview and passionate words about the importance of women's roles in the WRAC.