The Young Lady who Taught Our Queen To Drive.

[Private_collector]

As I had promised some time ago, I was honoured to enjoy an all too brief visit to a dear old couple, who both played interesting and important roles in World War Two. You may remember I posted photos the Husband had allowed me to copy, showing life as a British Tank Commander, in Africa. In 1944, he waded ashore at Normandy, driving/piloting/captaining a Duplex Drive tank. He also appears in a couple of videos on YouTube. Search for Victory Parade London 1946, you can see him standing through the turret hatch opening of his Churchill, with straight arms holding onto the sides of the ring.

His Wife, the subject of this thread, had an equally significant role. She, and a select group of other young women were entrusted with teaching basic mechanics and driving to Their Royal Highnesses, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. Fast forward more than seven decades, and the then Princess Elizabeth, is now Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II, monarch of the British Commonwealth. To this day, the dear lady who was one of her instructors still has periodic contact with/from HRH. Imagine that! A connection still remains, so many years after the event.

The following, are the photos I took last Tuesday, showing two seperate clippings from a London newspaper that carried the story of the driving and maintenance training. I will post the 'untouched' photos first, then I will show the same photos again in a second post, identifying the lady I speak of. Be aware that according to royal protocol of the day (might till be), some photos were intended to only show The Princesses, and as a result, the others were not permitted to face camera. Luckily, my lady remembers exactly where she was standing in every shot.

Hope you enjoy!

[Private_collector]

And the girl that served and worked alongside our Queen, is still thought of as a member of......

[David Dunlop]

Great story, Tony. Thanks for posting.

David

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

How fortunate for you Tony, that you were able to share in this living history. Sadly, and unfortunately all too often, you only hear snippets of this sort of information at eulogies, then you can only regret the missed opportunities.
Please pass on the best of regards from this MLU member at least
Rich.

[Private_collector]

Thankyou David and Richard! I will most definately relay your regards, Richard. I feel exactly the same as the sentiments you expressed. After the fact, is not the time to hear of some important information that deserves greater than a mention.

I only regret i cannot identify the lady concerned, or indeed her husband, for confidentiality reasons. That time will come, and it will be very sad days, for it will mean we have lost yet another of our living treasures.

Ironically, neither of the couple see their histories as a big deal. I feel exactly the polar opposite, as I believe many folk would agree.

If I had such an illustrious past, I would first take up drinking......then revel in knowledge that I would never need to pay for another drink in any pub where the story was known.

[David Dunlop]

Tony.

I forgot to comment that at the end of the book "The King's Speech", it was mentioned King George VI and Queen Elizabeth kept in touch with Lionel Logue and his family for the rest of their lives, so significant personal contributions to members of the Royal Family are clearly, very much appreciated. Not at all surprising, therefore, that Queen Elizabeth II would keep in touch all these years with this remarkable woman you have had the honour to meet. She probably still knows her way around a Blitz!

David

[Private_collector]

Hi David,

Yes, I think they must have made an impression on one another. HRH ER II, would surely have seen em, and God knows she lived through the name sake, but wouldn't have had the luxury/misfortune of driving one. To this day, she remains the only person in England who legally can drive without a licence. She doesn't have one, never has! So my friend tells me.