When the Second World War started, Pauline Payne was just 13 years old. Excited by the prospect, she initially wanted to join the Land Army, however quickly changed her mind after being tested by her father on her level of commitment.  Instead, at age 17, she joined the FANY, which was assuredly much safer. As an only child it took Pauline a lot of getting used to, particularly the switch from having her own bedroom to sleeping in shared quarters with 32 other beds, however she recalls greatly enjoying the social side of life within the FANY. She was encouraged to go to dances, and remembers the excitement of the Americans arriving, bringing with them more food and cigarettes, which she would swap for soap. Throughout the war, Pauline would work at a number of SOE stations in Britain. To get a signal, she remembers having to stand on duck boards holding a large electric coil, listening out for messages from agents working in Europe.  It wasn’t until after the war that Pauline realised the importance of her work on transmitters. Being young and very inexperienced, it was her first experience of war, and for a long time she'd never had to consider the prospect of people being killed. With a lot at stake, maintaining a good atmosphere within the FANY was very important. Pauline remembers her involvement with much enjoyment, and considers it to be a liberating time in her life.

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.