From a rural background working with tractors, John was first conscripted into the Royal Horse Artillery then, after a period of training in Germany, was transferred to the 20^th Field Regiment and on to Korea. John vividly remembers the journey to Pusan (now Busan) and arrival at Christmastime 1952. He describes how the area had been devastating by the war. John was a Linesman and responsible for repairing damaged wires between the guns and the infantry. He showed incredibly bravery as this work could often be at night and risked mortar attack if the enemy saw their lights. Despite this, John loved this work. John was then sent to the Hook for observation duties and was there for the Third Battle of the Hook in May 1953 which he recalls in detail. The Hook was a ridge which offered a valuable position and John describes how thousands of Chinese soldiers were sent to try and take it. The firing was intense, including napalm from American aeroplanes, which John expresses reservations about the use of. John was in Korea for the armistice and was demobbed close to Christmas that year. Reflecting on the war, John says he is glad they were sent to help. He has since returned to South Korea and is impressed with the nation’s growth and modernity.

As a Junior Cadet, Godfrey just knew he wanted to be a soldier. Godfrey was born in Leicester, but schooled in Derby during World War Two. He enrolled at the Sandhurst Military Academy, aged 18. After Sandhurst, Godfrey became a Commissioned Officer in the Royal Leicestershire Regiment and was posted to Hong Kong. Aged 20, Godfrey was training in anticipation for Korea. In Busan, Godfrey recounts seeing casualties coming down from Maryang-san hill and how he wanted to do something. On November 5th 1951, Godfrey joined efforts to retake Maryang-San. He recalls the terrifying shelling and how his small platoon held and were relived from a small hill called "Italy". Godfrey recalls how he found out that the Chinese army took "Italy", and most of the platoon posted there. He also fondly remembers the Northumberland Fusiliers. After the Maryang-san battle, Godfrey was mostly on patrol and he recalls stepping on a mine and his logistical and personal journey to recovery. Godfrey took medical retirement after seven more years' service, never fulfilling his dream to command his Leicester regiment. Reflecting on Korea, Godfrey would not have missed it for the world and he will never forget those who served in it.

Rowena Patrick MBE trained at the WRAC College in Camberley and began her long military career in the WRAC in 1969 at the age of 23. Employed with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps at Aldershot and then Shrewsbury, Rowena was responsible for rewriting the then-outdated syllabus for women’s military training in the WRAC. As a keen mountaineer, Rowena’s new syllabus included adventurous survival training for both men and women, including rock climbing, ice climbing, and walking in all weather in the UK and abroad. In 1976, Rowena was posted as a grade 3 staff officer in the Ministry of Defence to the Directorate of Army Training in Guildford. During her career as an Army Major and Commanding Officer, Rowena worked alongside Wrens and members of the WRAF. Rowena remembers several IRA bombings that occurred in the 1970s and her experience with the SIB. Rowena also recalls, with pride and sadness, marching at Lord Louie Mountbatten’s state funeral in 1979. From then, for two and a quarter years, Rowena worked in Brunei for the Sultan of Brunei on loan service with the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment. Whilst in Brunei, Rowena carried out physical training, forming the Women's Army of Brunei. Back in England, in 1985, she became employed with the Royal Corps of Signals in Blanford. Rowena resigned from the WRAC in 1992. She went on to work for The Burma Star Association; in 2012, Rowena was awarded an MBE for her outstanding contribution and services to the veteran’s association.