Communications Officer
Eight members of the Corps have provided support to Her late Majesty’s funeral in London on Monday 19 September 2022. FANYs assisted with ushering duties and were positioned outside Westminster Abbey.
The Corps is honoured to have a strong historic connection with Queen Elizabeth II; in 1945, the then HRH Princess Elizabeth trained with the FANY/ATS as a driver and in motor mechanics. During the first three weeks of training, Princess Elizabeth received driving lessons in Windsor Great Park and went through the complete training of an ATS driver. Princess Elizabeth became the twelfth member of a senior NCOs class and took maintenance, map-reading and ATS Administration. In the words of the FANY Commanding Officer at the time, Commandant Maud MacLellan:
“The King and Queen and the Princess herself insisted there should be no privileges for her. She was to be treated as a junior officer. As such, she called me Ma’am and was ever ready to open a door for me and do other little services. She was there as a junior officer – no more, no less.”
Lisa Giles, The Corps’ Commanding Officer, said:
“We are truly honoured to have been able to play our part in such a historic ceremony. As a Corps, we will forever be proud that Her late Majesty The Queen rolled up her sleeves as one of us during the Second World War.
“It has been an immense privilege to support such an important event for the nation.”
First image: Crown copyright 2022