A keen runner and fitness fanatic, Anthony Cooper signed up at 16 and completed his training at AFC Harrogate and Catterick before being posted to Germany with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment – an experience he recalls with great glee. Anthony goes on to talk about the six-month operational tour of Iraq that followed, and shares the harsh realities of his first real soldiering experience compared to the practice of training. After a brief decompression in Cyprus, Anthony returned to Catterick where training for combat in Afghanistan began. He recalls the relentlessness of the conflict on arriving in Nad Ali, and talks about living with the fear of a constant threat to life which became all too real in 2010 when a 45kg IED exploded beneath his feet on a routine patrol in Helmand Province. Anthony talks candidly about his injuries, the long road to recovery and the hard work needed to adapt to life as an amputee with severe brain trauma and visual impairment. The extraordinary courage and resilience of his service now manifest themselves in his determination to overcome any new obstacle in his path, and to achieve his dream of running again one day on blades.

When Peter Waddington turned 18, his National Service call-up papers arrived and soon after he found himself training with the 1st King’s Liverpool Regiment. Like many young men sent to Korea, he admits he knew almost nothing about the country or the conflict before he landed there. His memories capture both the strangeness and the stark reality of service: from being greeted on arrival by a band playing the Saint Louis Blues March to the harsh daily grind of trench warfare along the 38th Parallel.

In his interview, Peter recalls moments of humour, the ever-present rats and lice, and the rare relief of rest and recuperation in Japan. But he also speaks candidly about loss — the friends killed in action, the fear of attack, and the brutal fighting at the Battle of the Hook. Out of all his close comrades, Peter was the only one to return home unscathed.

Back in post-war Britain, he reflects on the challenges of returning to austerity and his determination that Korea should never be the “Forgotten War.”

Bernard Barker provides a riveting recount of his life in the 1st Royal Tank Regiment during the Korean War. Beginning as a poverty-stricken farm boy, he was soon conscripted into National Service where he was given a choice between the infantry regiment and the tank regiment. He chose the latter, having no keenness for marching! Already having experience driving tractors on his farm, he learned quickly. Following his training in Germany, he was sent off to Korea where he was given the privilege of driving a 50-ton Centurion Tank; a formidable war machine due to its strong armour protection and high survivability rate. He recalls defending the Hook (a defended section of the UN frontline) and was ordered to keep the tank in a static position while firing towards incoming Chinese troops. He remembers the difficult weather conditions, dealing with both the cold of winter and the intense humidity of summer, all the while pelting the enemy with various ammunition such as armour-piercing rounds and two inch mortars. Throughout the battle, Bernard recalls the UN having the overall advantage since the Chinese failed to remain elusive, making them easy targets. However, he always found himself in an extremely vulnerable position as it was also his job to carry ammunition from a bunker outside into the tank, coming close to death on numerous occasions. Eventually, the battle reached a ceasefire but Barker was still required to stay and train at least until the following December, lest the delicate peace was abruptly shattered. He reflects on the Chinese who surrendered and how some of their people had since integrated themselves into Western Society. Bernard's story is one of poverty to prominence and offers insight into the nature of tank warfare during the Korean war and the relationships which developed between East and West.