Joan Taylor, a member of the Women's Transport Service First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. Born in London, Joan's family relocated to Buckinghamshire and later to Surrey due to the war. At 19, Joan joined FANY, attracted by its unique reputation and diverse roles. She underwent training at Overthorpe Hall in Banbury, learning Morse code, coding, and other essential skills. Later, at Fawley Court and Thame, she honed her skills in wireless operation and coding, working with agents who were being trained for deployment in occupied countries. Joan's service took her to various locations, including Grendon Hall, where she worked as part of an operational team transmitting messages to and from agents in the field. She was later deployed to Massingham in North Africa, where she continued her signals work, primarily supporting missions in France and Italy. After Massingham, Joan was stationed in Bari and Siena, Italy, where she continued her signals work until the war's end. She reflects on her wartime service with pride, recognising the importance of her role in supporting the Allied effort.

In his youth, Martyn was an army cadet and in the territorials but didn’t land a commission. Instead he went into hotel work which then led to cruise ships. He started out as assistant purser and in the 1980s was onboard the SS Uganda which Martyn calls the “naughty boys ship” because it was full of rogues! They were being used by schools as an educational ship and were at Egypt when they were requisitioned for the Falklands. It was a nerve wracking journey to Naples at night and avoiding the wrecks from the Six Day War. There the children and passengers disembarked, military personnel boarded and the ship was kitted out as a floating hospital. Martyn recalls in detail the total transformation the ship underwent. To start with, the journey south felt like an adventure and morale was high, they had the Royal Marine Band onboard who helped meld together the Merchant and Royal Navy, but reality hit home when they heard about the sinking of HMS Sheffield and the General Belgrano. One of the biggest challenges they faced was ensuring water supply and their priority upon arrival became engineering this. Meanwhile, Martyn became a stretcher bearer on top of his other responsibilities as well as volunteering to help in the hospital wards. He recalls some of the casualties who came his way, including three men he knew from his days in the TA. Of all the casualties who came on board, only three died. Martyn also vividly recalls coming incredibly close to two Phantom jets and their ship unwittingly sailing through a minefield, thankfully without damage. Upon return, it was Martyn’s responsibility to look after the supply of souvenirs. He was based on his own in the Matron’s office which meant he couldn’t see the welcome home fanfare. Eventually, sure he was missing out, he abandoned the souvenirs to find his family! Martyn says he wouldn’t wear his medal for a long time because he didn’t directly experience the war but a captain told him to wear it with pride, if it hadn’t been for the support of vessels like the Uganda they would not have succeeded.

Lise de Baissac was a British citizen who was born in Mauritius but moved to Paris at 15. In 1940 she fled to Cannes and travelled via Portugal to London, where a cousin put her in contact with SOE. She was parachuted into France twice, once spending a year in Poitiers receiving agents and the second time in April 1944, working with her brother to distribute weapons to the Resistance before D-Day. She explains the training, how they were deployed to France, locating potential landing grounds, their flimsy communications and the limited instructions they were given. She reflects on her lucky escape after her first deployment, when her French helpers were arrested and one later died. She provides a vivid account of her experiences, including sad memories of people fleeing the German advance, her fears the first time she presented her false identity card, her terror when confronted by a German soldier trying to steal her bike.