Fenella J Miller shares one of the inspirations behind #ArmyGirlsOperationWinterWedding!
The most famous ATS driver would have been Queen Elizabeth II. Although she was a teenager when war broke out I think it made her decision to join the women’s army easy for her.She and her sister were evacuated to Windsor Castle which is 20 miles away from the centre of London. Her parents remained at Buckingham Palace to show solidarity with the people who were being bombed.
Before she joined the army there are photographs of her working on the family allotment at Windsor Castle – these were used as publicity for the “Dig for Victory” campaign.
As soon as Princess Elizabeth was eighteen, in nineteen forty five, she insisted on joining the ATS. The King, King George, made sure Elizabeth didn’t get any special privileges although she did start as a second subaltern the equivalent of a junior lieutenant, and eventually was promoted to a junior commander which is the equivalent of captain.
The Princess took the driving and vehicle maintenance course at Aldershot and qualified in April. Although the Princess spent most of her days at the training camp she was close enough to Windsor Castle to return each evening rather than sleep in the camp with her fellow ATS members. Therefore, her time in the ATS wouldn’t have been at all like the girls in my books
Her time in the army was brief but its significance was that a member of the Royal family, a future Queen, was prepared to get her hands dirty like the other girls.