In 1938, Mary joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry in her late teens. When the war started, she was posted to the anti-aircraft area HQ. Her duties included driving officers to gun sites, often several hundred miles. On one trip, a bomb landed nearby, and her car was blown across the road, but no one was injured. Driving through Sheffield and Coventry, after they had been severely bombed, was frightening, especially as her parents lived in Sheffield. In 1942, she wanted an overseas posting, which was refused, so she applied for a commission and became an officer. In 1944, Germany launched the V-1 bombing campaign, and Mary found this unnerving. A bomb landed near a house she was in and blew out all the windows, and being an officer, she had to take charge of the situation. She grew up rapidly during the war and enjoyed the experience, despite the terrible events.   The publication of this previously unseen interview was made possible thanks to a grant from The Gerry Holdsworth Special Forces Charity, to mark 80 years since the closure of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in January 1946. 

Keith Watson was a carpentry apprentice before he was called up into the Royal Norfolk Regiment for his National Service. His first posting was on the Yugoslav/ Italian border in 1952. When he returned home, he served as batman to the Regimental Sergeant Major, a role that kept him out of trouble until he arrived in Korea. On arrival, Keith was moved to B company and sent to the frontline. He gives a first-hand account of life on the hills in Korea, which mostly involved: digging trenches, keeping warm, and trying to avoid the mosquitoes. Keith details the configuration of barbed wire fences and mines in No Man’s Land and how, as a patrolman you had to be very aware of how to navigate these defences. He recalls being sent to a small hill in No Man’s Land nicknamed “the island” to survey the enemy – the hill was very exposed, and Keith counts himself lucky not to have been attacked. Keith served the maximum of 12 months in Korea and was pleased to be sent home. His interview culminates with a moving poem dedicated to soldiers who served in Korea.