Coming from a musical and artistic family, John was attracted to military service as an opportunity to become a professional musician. He joined the Staffordshire Regiment, and after arduous basic training, joined the military band. He focused on the cornet and the double bass and describes his development as a musician. He puts his success down to hard work; he wanted to become a professional musician in a military band and he would do whatever it took to achieve this. He was then given the opportunity to train at Kneller Hall, which he describes as ‘the mecca for army music’. He practised hard and won a prize for the most improved musician on double bass as well as best double bass musician for that year. Following graduation, he spent time in Northern Ireland, then Gibraltar. Eventually he became an instructor in the Prince of Wales division and from there back to Kneller Hall as a student Bandmaster. Having graduated, he became the first black bandmaster and went to the Cheshire Regiment and from there to Bosnia and the first Gulf War. He describes his time with the Cheshire Regiment, during which he received a commission before retiring in 2000.

Kay volunteered for the Auxiliary Territorial Service as a teenager in 1940. Toward the end of her training three ATS women were killed in Chatham and she volunteered as one of the replacements. This assignment was in the Y service, which was a worldwide network of intelligence gathering. Her work involved receiving messages from around the world, transcribing them so that they could be evaluated and passed on to various units. Some went to the Ultra decoding group at Bletchley Park. After several different locations her unit was sent to disguised purpose-built offices near Loughborough. Here she spent the next five years until the end of the war, which they knew was imminent when they received an uncoded message from Germany ‘Der Fuhrer ist kaput’! When the war ended she held the rank of sergeant. She was sworn to secrecy and did not talk about her work for thirty years, which irritated her mother. During her time in the Y service, she worked with Special Operations Executive and intelligence officers, including Kim Philby. She thinks that her work during the was worthwhile and has been told that it may have shortened the war by up to two years. In 1945 she married a man she met working at the same establishment, and they were both demobbed that year. She became a borough councillor and was thinking of standing as an MP but instead went with her husband to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where they lived and worked for fifteen years.

At only 16 years old, Jean Argles felt a calling to serve in the army. By 18, she found herself in London, interviewing for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY). A critical question was asked in the interview: “Do you do crosswords?” A test of Jean’s aptitude for critical code and cipher work during wartime. With her answer, Jean entered a world of secrecy, decoding messages in operations that took her over the globe. After carrying out her training on Baker Street, she learned of opportunities overseas. Jean’s work took her from London to Egypt, working on the banks of the Nile. She carried out work to code messages for undercover agents in Greece and the Balkans, and also recalls fond memories of exploration in Egypt: nightclubs, horse-riding and visiting the Pyramids. Following this, she volunteered for a new assignment in Italy. Stationed in a small fishing village, Jean supported resistance members, encoding vital messages. When the German army finally surrendered, Jean remained in Italy until September before returning to the UK. Reflecting on her time with the FANYs, she describes it as the most transformative experience of her life. It offered her freedom, confidence, and a sense of purpose. Jean’s story is a testament to the unique opportunities the war presented to women at a time when their roles were otherwise limited. For Jean, the FANYs weren’t only about service, they were a gateway to adventure and independence.