Colonel R.K. Montgomery shares his story as a British Army officer during World War II. Coming from a family with a strong military background, Montgomery joined the Royal Engineers in 1939. Early in the war, he faced the fast advance of German forces and had to pull back from France to England. His interest in explosives led him to join the Commandos, a special unit trained for tough missions. In his role he trained other Commandos in using explosives. His skills were crucial during the St. Nazaire Raid, a mission to destroy a key German port. During the raid, they completed their mission under heavy enemy fire but were eventually captured by German forces. Montgomery spent time as a prisoner of war in Oflag IX-A/H Spangenberg Germany. He faced many hardships but also showed great resilience to make it through his imprisonment. After the war, he continued his military service in Malaya, working in engineering roles. His story is a powerful example of bravery, skill, and dedication.

After an unsure start to her career, Sandy soon realised she was talented at using the teleprinter and was immediately taken to the signals centre to begin working in communications. Sandy describes the rapid developments in technology and machines she oversaw whilst working for the Royal Signals, and remembers the complex relationship British intelligence had with American intelligence when co-working with satellite shuttles. She also recalls the adversities of being a woman in the army, not only regarding gender discrimination, but also the manner in which the SIB invested lesbianism amongst members of the WRAC. Sandy sadly describes her own experience with the investigations team, and due to being accused of same sex relations, was forced to leave the army instantly. This interview provides important insight into not only the highly vital roles women played within the WRAC, but also the range of issues they faced. Reflecting on the WRAC Sandy states that although she is proud to have served her country, she never felt like her life was truly hers.

John volunteered for the RAF just before the start of WW2, but failed the vision test and instead joined the Army. He was assigned to the armoured corps and soon after he volunteered for Special Operations Executive. At the time parachuting was not mentioned and John thinks that if it had been he would not have volunteered! During training he specialised in Signals and learned unarmed combat and parachuting, which he was not too keen on. He was scheduled to parachute into France before D-Day but the mission was aborted at the last minute. Instead they dropped after D-Day, from a Short Stirling bomber. Due to a storm the pilot could not find the drop zone but they parachuted anyway. Three days later they met their French resistance contacts near Dijon. Here they received knowledge of a German troop train passing through. John contacted HQ and the information was passed to the RAF who bombed it. During this time he could see German radio detector vans trying to find their precise location. Later he and the Resistance attacked troops guarding Marshall Petain, the Vichy collaborator, as he tried to get to Switzerland. During this time the British stayed in uniform to avoid execution if captured by the enemy. On his return to Britain he was sent to jungle training school and then parachuted into Burma and during this period he was shelled by ‘friendly fire’. His unit fought the Japanese and they eventually met up with the British 14^th Army.