The Tradition of Service
Page 44
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IN March, 1945, shortly before her nineteenth birthday, the Queen, as Princess Elizabeth, elected to join the Auxiliary Territorial Service and undergo a course at No. I Mechanical Transport Training Centre, Camberley. It had earlier been decided by King George VI, with the implicit approval of the War Cabinet, that her liability for National Service should be subjugated to claims for her training as Heiress Presumptive. She, however, prevailed upon her father to consent to her assuming military rank.
King George stipulated that 230873 Honorary Second Subaltern the Princess Elizabeth should be treated in the same manner as any other trainee officer. Starting as a novice, Her Royal Highness quickly grasped the theory and practice of driving, vehicle maintenance and map reading, and qualified sooner than any other girl in her class. It is doubtful whether until then the hands of a daughter of a reigning monarch had ever been soiled with oil or grease, but the thought of riming herself was no deterrent to the enthusiastic young cadet. This quality of thoroughness is displayed by Her Majesty in all that she undertakes.