In 1945, Life magazine published an article about Princess Elizabeth.
It reported that King George VI had ruled, that “[Elizabeth’s] training as a princess
outweighed the nation’s increasing manpower problems and that ‘Betts’ should not join
any of the women’s auxiliaries, nor work in a factory”.
But the King would not get his way.
In April 1944, the young Princess had turned 18.
Her teenage years had been against the backdrop of the Second World War.
Elizabeth was determined to ‘do her bit’ for the war effort, as so many of her peers
were.
Within a year of turning 18, Elizabeth would sign up for service.
It was an unprecedented decision – this would make her the first woman in the Royal
Family to become a full-time member of the armed services.
And it was a decision that would shape her life and reign.
At the outset of the war, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth decided that they would not
be seen to be hiding away from the war.
They wanted to be visible for the people of Britain who were working and fighting for
the war effort.
In September 1940, five high explosive bombs were dropped on Buckingham Palace.
Rather than move away from the danger, the King and Queen decided to remain at Buckingham
Palace in solidarity with those living through the Blitz.
The Queen is reported to have said: 'I am glad we have been bombed.
Now we can look the East End in the eye.'
The King and Queen made many visits to areas that had bombed during the Blitz, as well
as to serving personnel, to munitions factories, to RAF bases and Royal Naval ships, and to
troops training for combat.
They wanted to keep people’s spirits up during the war years and took on the role
of boosting morale with fervour.
The King’s sister, Princess Mary – known as the Princess Royal, was also involved in
the war effort.
She had been a nurse during the First World War and had started a fund to buy gifts for
soldiers at Christmas and now in the Second World War she continued her support – she
was the Controller Commandant of the women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service and she travelled
around the country visiting its units – she also worked with other wartime services and
charities.
Princess Elizabeth was just 13 years old when war broke out, and her younger sister Princess
Margaret was 9.
Princess Elizabeth had a fairly sheltered childhood prior to
the war – she didn’t attend school with other children but was instead educated at
home with her sister by a governess.
When war broke out, Elizabeth and Margaret were evacuated to Windsor Castle as it was
felt to be safer than Buckingham Palace in London.
And there they were kept safe from the bombing and also had an allotment as part of the national
‘Dig for Victory’ campaign.
She was naturally very responsible and dutiful and very much took notice of what was happening
and wanted to play her part.
She saw the work her parents were doing to boost people’s morale and she learned from
that the importance of duty during times of national crisis.
Princess Elizabeth carried out her first public duties during the war.
On the morning of her sixteenth birthday, Princess Elizabeth undertook her first inspection
of a military regiment during a parade at Windsor Castle.
She also took on some honorary roles when she was still a teenager – she became the
Colonel of the Grenadier Guards in 1942 and on the morning of her 16th birthday, she carried
out her first official public engagement when she inspected the Guards at Windsor Castle.
She also launched her first ship, HMS Vanguard, at Clydebank when she was aged 18.
And she even performed some of her father the King’s head of state duties while he
was in Italy in 1944.
Women had been volunteering for war work since the start of the war.
The conscription of unmarried women between ages 20 to 30 was introduced in Britain in
December 1941 – women could choose between working on the land or in war industry, or
joining one of the military auxiliary services.
Later, the age limits expanded and more women were mobilised.
Eventually Elizabeth got her way and enlisted in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, known
as the ATS, in February 1945, aged 18.
The ATS was an auxiliary service that women could join or be conscripted into during the
war.
Its members became women soldiers who carried out roles that would free up men for front
line duties.
The ATS was the largest of the women’s auxiliary services and, by June 1945, it had around
200,000 members who were drawn from across the British Empire.
Women were not allowed combat roles so instead they served as telephonists, clerks, drivers,
postal workers, dispatch riders and ammunition inspectors.
Around 56,000 members of the ATS also served with anti-aircraft units, in which they tracked
enemy aircraft and aimed anti-aircraft guns – but only men were allowed to fire them.
Princess Elizabeth enrolled on a driving and vehicle maintenance course.
Her classes included mechanics theory and map reading and she learned how to service,
maintain and drive heavy army vehicles at the ATS No. 1 Mechanical Transport Training
Centre.
The princess was treated the same as the rest of her company during their training and was
able to mix with young people from different backgrounds.
She enjoyed chatting with other women on her course over cups of tea during their breaks.
This was quite unusual for the time and there was great press interest in seeing the young
heir to the throne during her military training.
Photographers captured her dressed in overalls working on vehicle engines and changing tyres
and the press even named her ‘Princess Auto Mechanic’.
Throughout her training Elizabeth worked for seven hours a day, but didn’t stay in the
barracks on site – she would return to Windsor Castle each evening.
After five months of training as a mechanic and military truck driver in Camberley the
future queen was promoted to the rank of honorary Junior Commander.
She took her duties very seriously and, although some people were excited by her presence,
it is reported that she was hard working and humble during the time she served in the ATS.
The King and Queen and Princess Margaret visited Princess Elizabeth during her time at the
training camp, and watched her in action.
The Princess commented that she “never knew there was quite so much
advance preparation [for a royal visit] ...I’ll know another time.”
The young princess
graduated as a fully qualified driver, but the war ended before she was able to make
practical use of her new skills.
To pass her final test, she made a solo journey in a heavy vehicle from Camberley in Surrey
into London.
Just a few months later heralded the end of the war in Europe.
On VE Day – 8 May 1945 – Princess Elizabeth joined her parents and sister on the balcony
of Buckingham Palace, along with the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, to greet the
huge, cheering crowds that had gathered there to celebrate the end of the war in Europe.
Later on that day, the young princess was allowed to leave the palace and mingle with
the crowds, anonymously.
She later spoke about this when she was Queen,
saying it was one of the most memorable days of her life.
She said: ‘We asked my parents if we could go out
and see for ourselves.
I remember we were terrified of being recognised … I remember lines of unknown people linking
arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and
relief.’
Princess Elizabeth was naturally quite serious and responsible even when she was young,
and the war years really strengthened that aspect of her personality
and provided the foundation of her later attitude towards duty when she became Queen.
Although the Second World War ended in 1945, restrictions in Britain continued and the
Royal Family followed suit.
Rationing did not end until 1954 and Princess Elizabeth even saved up ration coupons to
buy the material for her wedding dress in 1947.
Just seven years after the end of the war, Elizabeth became Queen.
This experience of coming of age during a war would play a pivotal role in shaping how
she reigned and who she is.
She learned from her father the importance of the monarch being visible and present during
times of national crisis.
She formed a relationship with Winston Churchill over these years, who would later be her first
Prime Minster when Queen. She learned from her father
the importance of the monarch being visible and present during times of national crisis.