Queen Elizabeth’s Wartime Heroics Were Often Overlooked

By the time that World War II broke out in September 1939, Elizabeth’s life had already taken some unexpected twists and turns. Growing up, she had been third in line to the British throne, which meant she had been scrutinized by the press since birth. But as her uncle Edward was due to be king, nobody thought that she would ever really come to wield much power.

Sure enough, when Elizabeth’s grandfather George V died in 1936 Edward ascended the throne. But his reign would last for less than a year. After falling in love with an American divorcee, he chose to abdicate as king, leaving him free to pursue the less-than-desirable match. And in his stead, his brother George was crowned king.

Suddenly Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of George VI, found herself in a very different position. At just 11 years old, with no brothers ahead of her in the line of succession, she was heir to the British throne. And from that point onwards, her life would never be the same.

For the next three years, Elizabeth enjoyed the sort of childhood that might be expected of a girl who would one day become Queen. In the classroom, she learned constitutional history from a top Eton scholar and became proficient in the French language. And although she joined various clubs such as the Girl Guides and Sea Rangers, she could never escape the fact that she was different from her peers.

Then, on September 1, 1939, Elizabeth’s world was thrown into disarray once more when Germany invaded Poland, heralding the start of World War II. And a year later, as bombs started to rain down on England’s cities, millions of children were evacuated from urban areas and sent to live in the relative safety in the countryside. 

At railway stations across the country, sobbing children were forced to leave their homes and families behind and head off into the great unknown. Meanwhile, mothers and fathers waved goodbye to their sons and daughters, unsure if they would ever see them again. And even the royal family was not exempt from this terrible trauma. 

In early 1940 Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret had been evacuated to Windsor, some 20 miles outside London, moving into Windsor Castle that May. Apparently, officials had tried to persuade the princesses and their mother to wait out the war overseas. But George’s wife, also called Elizabeth, had refused to leave her husband behind, displaying the sort of bravery that her daughter was destined to inherit.

That October, the 14-year-old Elizabeth contributed to the war effort for the first time — although it certainly would not be the last. Despite being young, afraid, and far from home, she gave her first public address, aimed at evacuees around the country. And with her calm and charming demeanor, she became a symbol of British steadfastness in the face of adversity.

“Thousands of you in this country have had to leave your homes and be separated from your fathers and mothers,” Elizabeth said. “My sister Margaret Rose and I feel so much for you, as we know from experience what it means to be away from those you love most of all. To you living in new surroundings, we send a message of true sympathy and at the same time we would like to thank the kind people who have welcomed you to their homes in the country.”

Later in her speech, Elizabeth reassured listeners that “in the end, all will be well.” But as the years ticked by, the war showed no signs of coming to a close. And Elizabeth, despite her young age, found herself shouldering more and more responsibility as the conflict continued to rage.

In 1942 for example, Elizabeth was appointed Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, an infantry unit engaged in fighting on the front line. And just before she turned 18, the law was changed to give her more power in the event of her father’s absence overseas. But even that wasn’t enough for the princess, who had begun to crave a more active role in the war.

Even from the relative safety of Windsor Castle, you see, Elizabeth was fully aware of the havoc that German bombs were wreaking across the country. Beginning on July 10, 1940, and lasting for more than three months, the Battle of Britain had seen Britain’s Royal Air Force do battle with the Luftwaffe in the skies over England. And in the ensuing chaos, many people had lost their lives.

Eventually, the Allies fought off the planned German invasion and emerged from the Battle of Britain victorious. But that was not the end of the bombing. And for months to come, the Luftwaffe shifted from their focus to nighttime raids in a reign of terror that would become known as the Blitz.

Over the course of eight months, the Germans dropped some 12,000 tons of explosives on London, resulting in almost 30,000 civilian deaths. Meanwhile, the bombs laid several urban areas to waste, with extensive damage in the capital as well as in cities such as Liverpool, Coventry, and Birmingham. Even the royal palaces, it turned out, were not safe.

Despite the carnage happening around them, King George and Queen Elizabeth had stubbornly refused to leave London during the Blitz. And just months after the princesses had been evacuated to Windsor, the family residence at Buckingham Palace came under fire. Reportedly, five bombs hit the complex, damaging several buildings and injuring workers.

Even then, King and Queen remained in the capital as a show of solidarity with the ordinary Londoners enduring the Blitz. At the time, the Queen is reported to have said, “I am glad that we have been bombed. Now we can look the East End in the eye.” Meanwhile, over at Windsor, the princess was cultivating a bravery all of her own.

According to reports, Elizabeth was keen to join the war effort as soon as she came of age. But the King and Queen were reluctant to allow it. After all, although male members of the royal family had traditionally held military positions, it was unheard of for a woman to do the same.

But these, of course, were unprecedented times. And all around the country, Elizabeth’s contemporaries were doing their bit to help the Allies win the war. In fact, the government had begun conscripting young, single females into the military, where they were assigned to industrial tasks or the Women’s Land Army. 

Eventually, the King and Queen gave in to Elizabeth’s demands and allowed their daughter to sign up with the Auxiliary Territorial Service, or ATS, the British Army’s women’s division. But George was insistent that she should receive no special treatment despite her royal pedigree. And so, the princess was appointed as a second subaltern and presented with a choice of roles.

During World War II, women in the British armed forces served as everything from ammunition inspectors to postal workers. Some of the roles, such as cook or telephone operator, would not have been dissimilar to the positions that many of them already held in society. Meanwhile, others took on more dangerous tasks, such as manning anti-aircraft guns — although they were not actually allowed to fire the weapons.

The ATS, in other words, was not a way to safely wait out the war. In fact, by the time that the conflict was over, more than 300 women had lost their lives while serving their country in the military. And countless more sustained injuries that would affect them for the rest of their days.

Despite the risks, though, some 200,000 British citizens signed up to fight for the ATS, both at home and overseas. And Elizabeth, just 19 years old at the time, was determined to join them. Out of all the roles available, she opted to train as a mechanic, traveling to Aldershot in Surrey to undertake a six-week course.

For most of her life, Elizabeth had adhered to a rigid set of rules, as befitting a member of the royal family. But now, perhaps for the first time, she could enjoy a degree of freedom. And in the company of other enlistees, she passed her military driving test and learned skills such as map-reading and how to change a tire.

But that wasn’t all. As part of her training, Elizabeth also learned how to repair engines — and how to drive a vast array of military vehicles. Before the course was over, she had spent time behind the wheels of Jeeps, trucks, and even ambulances. And what’s more, she seemed to have a great time doing so.

“One of [Elizabeth’s] major joys was to get dirt under her nails and grease stains in her hands, and display these signs of labor to her friends,” Collier’s magazine noted in a 1947 article. Meanwhile, the British media delighted in recounting the exploits of the girl they dubbed “Princess Auto Mechanic.”

Elizabeth, though, still had to make some concessions to royal life. Unlike her fellow subalterns, who slept at the training camp, the princess was driven back to Windsor Castle each night. And when meals were served, she retreated to the comparative privacy of the officer’s mess. Still, her time at Aldershot would have offered a genuine insight into how many of her subjects lived.

Despite their initial reluctance, reports claim, the King and Queen were proud of Elizabeth’s accomplishments in the ATS. And in April 1945 they paid a visit to Aldershot to see her in action. Afterwards, photographs of the young princess demonstrating engine maintenance to her mother became famous around the world. 

But Elizabeth’s time in the ATS was far from just a mere publicity stunt. In fact, all reports indicate that she was an excellent mechanic. And after just five months of training, she was promoted to the rank of Junior Commander — without the need for any special favors from her father.  

By the time that the King and Queen visited Elizabeth’s training camp, though, the war was reaching its final stages. Since January 1945 German troops had been on the retreat, and their official surrender was just around the corner. On May 8, victory in Europe was declared, and Britain erupted with celebrations.

At the time, Elizabeth was still serving in the ATS, although her royal duties would have prevented her from joining the festivities with her fellow recruits. But she was determined not to miss out entirely. And along with her sister Margaret, she left the palace to mingle with the jubilant masses — although she kept her identity under wraps.

“We asked my parents if we could go out and see it for ourselves,” Elizabeth told author Jennie Bond, according to her 2006 book Elizabeth: Eighty Glorious Years. “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.”

The war, though, was not completely over, and Elizabeth remained enlisted until September 1945, when Japan surrendered and the conflict was finally brought to a close. Although she had never made it to the front line, she had cemented her place in history as the first female royal to embark on a military career.

In fact, to this day, Elizabeth remains the only female royal to have done so — proving that she really was a trailblazer. After all, it was a time when society was still very much dominated by traditional gender roles. But all that was about to change. With the war over, many women were reluctant to return to the roles of homemaker and wife.

For years, women such as Elizabeth had kept things ticking over at home while the men of the country were away at war. And they had proved themselves more than capable. Although equality was still some way away, many credit divisions such as the ATS as pivotal in the development of 21st-century feminism.

For Elizabeth, the end of World War II meant the conclusion of her military service. But her responsibilities towards her country had barely begun. Fewer than seven years later, her father George passed away at the age of 56, leaving the princess, just months shy of her 26th birthday, to inherit the throne.

Despite her young age, Elizabeth proved to be a competent ruler, presiding over a period of relative peace and prosperity for the people of Britain. And in the end, she would turn out to be the longest-reigning monarch that the country had ever seen. What’s more, she never lost her edge — particularly when it came to her driving skills.

In 2003 reports emerged of an incident that had occurred some years earlier, during Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia’s visit to the U.K. While touring the Queen’s Scottish residence at Balmoral Castle, it seems, he was offered a trip around the extensive grounds. But what happened next would take him totally by surprise.

At the time, you see, women were barred from driving in Saudi Arabia. But that didn’t stop the Queen from gleefully climbing into the driver’s seat and taking Abdullah for a spin. Reportedly, she didn’t hold back either, speeding along the estate’s narrow roads — and leaving the crown prince terrified.

For a woman who spent much of her life fighting against societal expectations, it must have been a glorious moment. In fact, the Queen would remain enthusiastic about cars for the rest of her life. And eventually, she used her skills to teach her own children to drive, passing on her legacy to the next generation.