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Joseph Hammond was at school in Ghana when the Second World war broke out. In 1943 he joined the army and was drafted to serve in the 82nd West African Division alongside Gurkha and British forces as part of the Fourteenth Army.
In 2025, RBL will commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day at the National Memorial Arboretum. Take part in our events to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
For the first time veterans will be identified in the 2021 census and will no longer be hidden in plain sight. After four years of hard-fought campaigning, legislation was finally passed in June 2020.
Alec Penstone was 15 years old and worked in a factory when war broke out in 1939. After volunteering as a part time (Air Raid Precautions) messenger during the Blitz he joined the Royal Navy.
In 1941 Des Lush joined the RAF with hopes of becoming a pilot. Three years later he flew his first operation as a Bomb Aimer.
While sisters Pat Davies & Jean Argles served in the Second World War as codebreakers, their father had been captured and taken as a prisoner of war in the Far East.
Find out how the British, Indian, Gurkha, and African troops along with local tribes, changed the direction of the war in SE Asia.
The troops who served and sacrificed in the battles to take control of Monte Cassino came from six continents and represented many nations.
Read about the largest seaborne invasion in history. Here are 10 things you might not know about operation D-Day.
After VE Day many Britons began to think about rebuilding their lives, but prior to VJ Day thousands remained prisoners of war in the Far East.
Alan McQuillin, 97, joined the RAF in 1941 taking part in the Normandy landings before being deployed to support the war effort in the Far East.
Michael Tibbs, 98, joined the Royal Navy at the age of 18 after the outbreak of the Second World War, following in the footsteps of his father who was a Naval Chaplain.
Commonwealth forces outnumbered British forces in the Far East, and they were essential in bringing the war against Japan to an end.
An essential part of maintaining morale was keeping troops entertained. Most units had a joker, and larger units would stage pantomimes.
As African men from the Fourteenth Army returned home in 1945, they found the war had brought subtle and profound change to the continent.
For millions of pre-partition Indian Army soldiers who had fought in the Far East, peace brought a number of challenges.
