Auxiliary Territorial Service

Because his identity was secure, he was free to stoop, to serve and to give himself away.

In 1945, before she became Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

She trained as a driver and mechanic during the final months of the Second World War.

Here was a young woman born into royal privilege, learning to change wheels, to maintain engines and to work alongside others in uniform.

She is one of us and yet not one of us.

Towards the end of the war in 1945, she was made a second subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, which is a sort of female branch of the army, where she trained as a driver and a mechanic, uh, was also made an honorary junior commander, which is the female equivalent of a captain, five months later.

And this sort of down-to-earth tinkering with cars image is something [laughs] that stayed with her.

She was famously seen driving her trusty Land Rover across rough terrain in Balmoral, and you did get the feeling that if it stopped and broke down, she'd jump out and fix it.

He also expresses his plans for the future, such as taking my grandma, his youngest sister, to the big city to watch a movie on his return.

And his eagerness to hear news and experiences, her experiences of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the ATS, which he'd just joined, all his plans for the future cut short due to the war in Italy.

Again, these are handwritten letters which I've supplemented with army records, newspaper accounts, and of course I've talked to my parents about it.

So my mother knew his widow, my father met his widow, and of course Dad being in Santas in the 60s, you know, often...

As she grew older, Elizabeth wanted a more practical role in the war effort.

In 1945, shortly before her 19th birthday, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

She trained as a driver and a mechanic, learned to repair and service vehicles, and became the first female member of the Royal Family to serve as a full-time active member of the Armed Forces.

Photographs of the future Queen in overalls, working on engines and learning to change tyres were excellent wartime publicity, but she later reflected that she was genuinely enjoying the training.