Ever seen The Queen change a car tyre? Unseen pictures of Her Majesty serving in World War II
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 12:54 GMT, 24 May 2012 | UPDATED: 14:05 GMT, 24 May 2012
In the week her armed forces paid tribute to her these never-before-seen pictures reveal the Queen serving with the troops during World War II.
The amateur photographs show the teenaged future monarch setting the example followed today by her grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry.
They were taken in March 1945 showing the then Princess Elizabeth still aiding the war effort after the tide had turned against the Nazis in Europe.
Mucking in: The future Queen gets to grips with a wheel as Junior Commander Mildred looks on
The photographs have now been uncovered after they were donated in an album to the Yorkshire Air Museum, in Elvington, near York.
Taken at the Mechanical Transport Training Section, Camberley, Surrey, the pictures were snapped on the day the King and Queen and Princess Margaret came to visit.
They belonged to Peggy Hinchcliffe, who was training alongside Princess Elizabeth when the Royal Family made their visit, and have been displayed at the museum following Mrs Hinchcliffe’s death.
The Queen - who served with the Number 1 'Beaufront' Company, Auxiliary Territorial Service - can be seen maintaining a Austin K2 ambulance and standard ‘Tilly’ light truck.
Standing to attention: Princess Elizabeth in full uniform poses next to an Austin K2 Ambulance
Princess Margaret (left) is shown in more typical royal attire as she chats to her older sister next to a 'Tilly' truck
In one snap Her Majesty can even be seen appearing to lend a hand changing a tyre while in others it seems like her father King George VI is inspecting her handiwork.
On Saturday more than 2,500 servicemen and women marched past the Queen at Windsor Castle before mustering before her to salute her 60-year reign.
A flypast of 78 current and historic aircraft, including helicopters and the Red Arrows, closed the event.
Ian Richardson, from the Yorkshire Air Museum, said it was a privilege to have the remarkable collection of photographs, especially with the upcoming Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
The Royal Family look on as a sergeant attempts to start the Tilly. Junior Commander Violet Wellesley, great niece of the Duke of Wellington, can be seen on the far left
He said a set of the photographs had been copied and mounted in an album, which was duly sent to the Queen.
He said: 'At a time when the nation is celebrating our monarch these pictures are a reminder of how she has served us all.
'They were donated by Mrs Hinchcliffe after her death and to the best of our knowledge they have never been seen before.'
Mr Richardson said the museum would be holding a rally this weekend of more than 200 wartime vehicles, including three tanks and those worked on by Her Majesty.
As part of the celebrations three 25-pounder guns will be fired in salute to the Queen.
Relic: A truck similar to the one fixed up by the Queen. Visitors to the Yorkshire Air Museum will be able to see this and hundreds of other army vehicles at a Jubilee rally this weekend
Bringing out the big guns: These war-era 25-pounders will be fired in salute to the Queen at the rally
THE QUEEN'S WAR
The Queen (left) studies a map during her ATS training in 1945
The Queen may be head of Britain's armed forces in little more than name, but her role in the military has not always been purely ceremonial.
These days no-one would expect to find the 86-year-old monarch getting her hands dirty in Camp Bastion - but there was a time when she pulled on her fatigues and mucked in alongside her future subjects.
Princess Elizabeth's adolescence took place in the shadow of World War II and, with the country in crisis, she did not shy away from her royal duties.
Her first solo public appearance came at the age of 16, with a visit to the Grenadier Guards. By then she had already been named Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment - effectively the link between the infantrymen and the Royal Family.
And by 18, changes to the law meant she could act as a Counsellor of State, meaning she would be one of five royals holding the fort in the event of her father going abroad or becoming incapacitated.
Shortly after that, in February 1945, she signed up with the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service and was given the service number 230873.
She joined as an honorary Second Subaltern but must have impressed in her duties as a driver and mechanic, as she rose to the rank of honorary Junior Commander within five months.
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發表於 2012-5-25 05:55 AM
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