With sincere thanks to Geoff Pheasant for remastering the audio.

Don Turrell was just 17 years old when he volunteered for the Army during the Second World War. Leaving behind his job at the Ford motor works, he joined what would become the 9th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), and after months of training found himself landing in Normandy shortly after D-Day.

As a member of A Company, Don took part in some of the hardest fighting experienced by the battalion as it pushed inland through the Normandy countryside. He witnessed the realities of front-line combat at close quarters, lost friends and comrades, and was eventually seriously wounded by enemy shellfire. His injuries required a lengthy period of treatment and rehabilitation, leaving him with pain that remained for the rest of his life.

What makes Don’s testimony so compelling is not simply the events he experienced, but the way he reflects upon them. With remarkable honesty, warmth and resilience, he recalls the fear, camaraderie and determination that shaped a generation of young soldiers. More than seventy years later, the names and faces of the men he served alongside remained vivid in his memory.

Don’s story is a powerful account of courage, sacrifice and friendship, offering a deeply personal insight into the experiences of an ordinary young man caught up in one of history’s greatest conflicts.

Peter Lee was at the War Office when his superior tried to have him posted elsewhere but he was able to join Special Operation Executive (SOE). Initially he was at SOE HQ in London, in charge of field agent’s security. After this he was posted to north Africa and later Italy, where he worked with secret agents recruited from First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY). He also supervised two Russian agents who were parachuted into German occupied Italy. Peter was responsible for the training many of the FANY’s and ensuring the secrecy of their missions. One of these operations was the destruction of a huge steel press used to make German tanks. It was realised at the time that many agents sent out would never return and this unnerved some of the trainers. He regards the war as the most interesting time of his life and was in some ways sorry when it ended.