Donald Fentum joined the 3^rd Royal Horse Artillery Regiment in 1949. He recounts how he was initially stationed in Kent but volunteered for Korea when an officer visited his local pub looking for recruits. Don recalls his 6 week journey to Korea and how he initially joined the 179 Independent Mortars, before being assigned to the 61^st Mortar Regiment. Against his Dad’s advice, Don volunteered for the observational post at Hill 355 (Kowang San), his main duty was to check and repair communications lines – sometimes in enemy territory and under enemy fire. Don tells of life on the front lines in Korea, including the dire living conditions, freezing weather, and his experiences with enemy forces. He also outlines the precarious job of an artillery solider, recalling how mortars often exploded at random. The interview ends with Don’s brief recollection of his time in Germany and Suez after his service in Korea ended. Don’s incredible first-hand account of the Korean war enhances our understanding of the “forgotten war” and his entertaining anecdotes reinforce his view that “the army runs on its sense of humour”.

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.

Don McArthur recounts how his D Day parachute drop went awry, trapping him behind enemy lines with no supplies and causing him to spend ten months as a prisoner of war. During D Day Don had suspected that his given orders were flawed but the extreme camaraderie he had experienced in the Parachute Regiment prevented him from trusting his doubt and confusion.   Tasked with delivering mortars to a rendezvous point, Don and his platoon were dropped into Normandy on a dark, rainy night with no way to distinguish where to land or where to move towards. Despite the conditions he was able to locate three more of the lost Paras but no maps had been given out so following the noise of explosions was now their only option. After ten days of wandering the empty countryside with no supplies and no enemy or ally contact they were discovered by German soldiers and Don was captured.   Don found the prison camp’s staff strict and quick to anger but he couldn’t blame them for just doing their job and didn’t resist their interrogations due to how worn out he was. After having been released one month after World War 2 ended, the Parachute Regiment asked him to return to their ranks but Don instead chose to go live with his wife and infant child.