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A veteran interview with

Pegeen Hill

Pageen Hill had a remarkable young life working in the Red Cross. She travelled to some seriously inhospitable places

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About Pegeen Hill

During WWII, Pegeen was working for the Civil Defence in Bristol and volunteering for the Red Cross. She describes the shocking experience of living in Bristol during the Blitz and her voluntary work. She starts to become frustrated with the feeling of impotence at the Civil Defence and, when her older brother is killed in Italy, Pegeen is motivated to join the Red Cross full time and travels to France shortly before VE Day. Based out of Paris, Pegeen shares her memories of post war living conditions in France and offers her unique insights into the lives of non-military Brits captured under occupation.

After France, Pegeen travels to Singapore and then Japan and Korea where she works in the Welfare Section assisting injured servicemen with anything from letter writing to shopping. In Korea, Pegeen was stationed at Freedom Village and was there for both Little Switch and Big Switch, she recalls the difference in the attitudes of the men returning and speculates that the first tranche may have been subjected to greater indoctrination making them seem more anti-British. Pegeen then had a brief posting in Accra where her eyes were opened to a new level of hardship, and then onto Cyprus where she found herself working worryingly close to the Cypriot/Turk conflict.

Reflecting on her career with the Red Cross, despite the challenges and hardships, Pegeen is happy to have contributed and to have helped people.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
Lizzie Gray

Transcripts:
Please note that transcripts and closed captions in the video player are automatically generated by Vimeo.

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Home | Veterans | Pegeen Hill

A veteran interview with

Pegeen Hill

PegeenHill-e1588363676849

Pageen Hill had a remarkable young life working in the Red Cross. She travelled to some seriously inhospitable places

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Hill, Pegeen. A Veteran Interview with Pegeen Hill. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/pegeen-hill/. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
APA Style:
Hill, P. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Pegeen Hill [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved July 15, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/pegeen-hill/
Chicago Style:
Hill, Pegeen. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Pegeen Hill. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee. Accessed July 15, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/pegeen-hill/
Harvard Style:
Hill, P. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Pegeen Hill. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/pegeen-hill/ (Accessed: 15 July 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Hill, P. A Veteran Interview with Pegeen Hill [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2025 Jul 15]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/pegeen-hill/
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