Forces of Fame: Platinum Jubilee Edition

Those readers who pay attention to the news (and doubtless every single reader in the Commonwealth) will likely have noted something of a ‘Royal’ theme to… well, more or less everything for the last few days as the UK wishes Her Majesty well on the wonderful occasion of her Platinum Jubilee (that’s 70 years on the throne for those republicans out there). As a former Crown Servant myself, I thought it’d be good form to write something nice in appreciation of ‘The Boss’, and then I remembered… we make a model of her!

Before you go trawling through the website looking for Her Majesty with a submachine gun (a la our Churchill figure), being a girl of only thirteen at the outbreak of war precluded the then-Princess Elizabeth of York from taking a particularly ‘active’ role in the war effort. She nevertheless played her part throughout. While performing duties ranging from helping spearhead fundraising efforts to addressing the nation’s children (her first radio broadcast), Princess Elizabeth remained (as did much of the Royal Family) in London throughout the war, sharing the dangers of the Blitz alongside fellow Londoners.

While appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards in 1942 (a traditional honorary position for British Royals), Princess Elizabeth’s best-known wartime role was her time with the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the women’s branch of the British Army of the period. While not a full-time member due to her State duties, she trained as a driver and mechanic, and ended her service with the rank of (Honorary) Junior Commander, Service Number 230873. For this reason, we’ve presented our Princess Elizabeth as the driver of the ubiquitous Ford WOA1 staff car of the period, along with a suitably high-ranking passenger for her to ferry about.

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In games of Bolt Action, the WAO1 makes an ideal Utility Car for a British force. If you’d like to represent Princess Elizabeth as the driver (perfect for an Operation Sealion scenario!), I’d suggest taking the car as Regular and giving it a free single re-roll of a failed order check per game – with your opponent’s consent! While I’ve not been able to find any records of the then-Princess having any preternatural driving skill, it feels a little disloyal not to make Her Majesty a little better than the average bod!

Utility Car Rules – Armies of Great Britain Page 60

While not the longest Forces of Fame we’ve done, it might be the one with the most gravitas! From all of us at Warlord Games, congratulations to Her Majesty on 70 years of dedication and service.