“For two years, we’d been meticulously drilled on how to respond when we were under fire. We’d practiced with the Queen’s firing blanks at us while our sergeant majors screamed, ‘GET DOWN! LAY DOWN!’ However, after that first encounter with the Axis troops, we suddenly realised that being well trained and well disciplined was one thing, but being able to react correctly when our brains were screaming at us to freeze or fly, was quite another.”
Extract from ‘Blood and Bandages’ – included in the showcase
