At university, Audrey joined the Officer Training Corps which ultimately led her to join the army when she graduated. Due to her experience, Audrey never enrolled in basic training but was instead sent to the WRAC school of instruction. She was then posted to Shoeburyness as a Commander, then Singapore, and then to the new Duchess of Kent Barracks as Commanding Officer. Audrey also discusses growing IRA threats, and recalls the horror of experiencing the Aldershot bombing in 1972. Her career continued to flourish and she went to Army Staff College where she was the only woman out of one hundred men. Audrey proceeded to be posted at Shrewsbury as Senior Personnel Officer, then to the doctorate where she wrote employment papers for the WRAC, then the BAOR, and the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Audrey's work in the WRAC was fundamental to its evolution and she was involved in the crucial integration of weapons training into the female corps. She felt strongly that women should be given opportunities and went on to design the selection tests for officers admittance to Staff College. A true trailblazer, we thank Audrey for her inspiring interview and passionate words about the importance of women's roles in the WRAC.

Tony Martin shares his memories as a member of the Royal Pioneer Corps, initially carrying out the dirty job of setting up smoke screens to protect British cities and factories from German bombers during WW2. However, he is soon reallocated to the advanced airfield construction groups in preparation for D-Day.  Tony describes the relentless work of setting up crash strips for damaged planes and maintaining airfields in France, including how they set up a fully operational airstrip in record time. He shares the thrill of the frenzied crash strips, as spitfires, hurricanes and bombers “belly flopped” onto the runway. Tony also, however, reveals the danger and horror of the airstrips, as men dropped from burning planes thousands of feet above and they themselves became the target of German bombs, resulting in the loss of a close friend. After those initial months of the invasion, Tony was sent out to the Far East and he transferred to the military police in India. Tony’s interview is a stark reminder of the bravery and essential support work that the Royal Pioneer Corps carried out in WW2.