I shared this on my Facebook page four years ago today from the British & Commonwealth Forces page. Most people don't realise that Her Majesty is the last surviving Head of State who actually served in the 1939-1945 War. God save the Queen! Long may she reign!
HRH Princess Elizabeth, was a Captain in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) during WW2 she trained as a driver and mechanic.
The ATS was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 February 1949, when it was merged into the Women's Royal Army Corps.
The ATS had its roots in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC), which formed in 1917 as a voluntary service. During the First World War its members served in a number of jobs including clerks, cooks, telephonists and waitresses. The WAAC was disbanded after four years in 1921.
Prior to the Second World War, the government decided to establish a new Corps for women, and an advisory council, which included members of the Territorial Army (TA), a section of the FANY First Aid Nursing Yeomanry/Women's Transport Service and the Women's Legion, was set up. The council decided that the ATS would be attached to the Territorial Army, and the women serving would receive two thirds the pay of male soldiers.
All women in the army joined the ATS except for nurses, who joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMS), and medical and dental officers, who were commissioned directly into the Army and held army ranks, and those remaining in the FANY, known as Free FANYs.
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