Clarence Obi details the racism he experienced serving with the Royal Pioneer Corps in the 1970s after being spurred to join the Army by his curiosity and inspiration from his father. Training was by far his favourite part of his army career; it was tough but varied and always left him feeling physically and mentally fit, something he couldn’t say about the rest of his service.   His first experience with the army's prejudice came when his staff sergeant beat him until he bled in front of 30 to 40 people and suffered no consequences for his crime. The next time he was beaten was during a sports day, when a lieutenant officer used a pacer stick to nearly blind him while the other officers turned a blind eye. When kicked by his corporal for tying his laces, he made the mistake of reporting it to his colonel, staff sergeant, and sergeant major, who then proceeded to kick Clarence themselves.  Clarence had wanted to make a career out of the army but left after finding all the rules and regulations overly restrictive for him and easily abused by others. No matter how many exams he passed, he was stuck doing repetitive physical labour with no chance of promotion, being sent abroad or advancing himself in any way. Even though he possessed an exemplary record and was wearing the same uniform as everyone else, he was treated like an animal rather than an equal and he had had enough.

Stephen Jackson offers a powerful and emotional account of his time with the Northumberland Fusiliers during the Aden Emergency. Joining the army straight out of school at 15, Stephen quickly found himself posted to Germany as a company clerk, where his early days were marked by camaraderie, tough men, and even a memorable ski trip. However, everything changed when he was deployed to Aden in 1966. The scorching heat hit him first, followed by the tense atmosphere as he arrived at camp in a guarded truck. As a company clerk, his duties were largely administrative, but when out in the field, the situation could be terrifying. Stationed in the volatile Crater district, the role of the Fusiliers was to try and keep the peace between the NLF and FLOSY using foot patrols and roadblocks. One of his most harrowing memories is of the day the local police mutinied, resulting in the loss of several close comrades. After Aden, Stephen was posted to Belfast during the Troubles, completing four tours before finishing his service in Gibraltar. Reflecting on his experiences, he shares how the trauma from Aden has stayed with him, leading to PTSD. Despite the hardships, Stephen’s story is one of courage and resilience.

Basil Chambers recounts his experiences stationed in volatile post-war Berlin. The severe winter of 1947 motivated Basil to enlist in the Royal Norfolk Regiment. He joined the Signals Corps where he trained to become an instructor, and on passing his exams was sent to post-war Berlin. Taken to barracks in the suburb of Spandau, Basil recalls open land, and a lack of building, that is except for Spandau Prison, which housed convicted Nazi war criminals. Basil recounts the surreal experience of watching Rudolf Hess take his daily walk. Identified as a sportsman, Basil tells of his eagerness to run in the 5,000 metres, despite not having ‘a clue what that was’! His desire to succeed means he can boast the rare accolade of victory at the Berlin Olympic Stadium! The souring of Western Allies and Soviet Union relations resulted in road, rail and water blockades by Soviet forces. The airlifts that followed, taking food and fuel into Berlin, introduced Basil to flying, albeit sitting on crates of cheese! Basil and his colleagues gained a rare insight into life in post-war Berlin. He describes a community dealing with power outages and food shortages, but his overriding memory is that of resilient hardworking people ‘really making an effort to get back on their feet’.