The Will to Fight
It is a given that a demoralized army cannot fight effectively, good leadership is essential. Good leadership at home is essential too, lest the Army lose its perspective. Civilians play an enormous role in a war, they must supply and support the military and be willing to fight alongside those in uniform, both logistically and in determination to win.
Nowhere was this more important than in Britain during the Second World War. Prior to Pearl Harbor American involvement in the war was both silent and minimal. Great Britain was on her own fighting the Nazis. London was being blitzed, supplies were short and the nation was still recovering from the enormous political scandal of the King's abdication. The new King and Queen were largely unknown quantities and the Prime Minister, Churchill, not as popular as he eventually would be. It was hard to see where the leadership, and will to fight would come from.
Militarily and politically it came from Winston Churchill, moral fiber came from the Royal Family. The new King, George VI, had always been eclipsed by his older brother, the former King Edward VIII. He was a very private person, who did not shine in the limelight he was forced into by his brother. Nor did he aspire to shine. He was happy with his wife, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and his two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. However, when he ascended the throne, and his nation was at war he became a force to reckoned with. In large part this was due to his wife, Queen Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was born August 4, 1900, and was already a veteran of one world war when the second broke out. Her family home, Glamis Castle in Scotland, had been a hospital during the first war, and she had done active nursing duty for the soldiers who were sent there. It was then that she learned the importance of morale and how to foster it, a skill which she maintained all her life.
Many Britons and Europeans evacuated to foreign countries, notably Canada. The King and Queen were adamant in their refusal to go. Perforce, the Princesses stayed too. They continued to live at Buckingham Palace, in the heart of London, even after it sustained nine direct hits during the Blitz. There was a bomb shelter in the basement, where the King and Winston Churchill were often forced to hold their meetings when the raids were at their most intense. After each raid the King and Queen would tour the bombed out areas, sharing the danger and distributing aid. The Queen was frequently to be found handing out food and blankets, she raided the storehouses at royal residences to provide furniture and, on one memorable occasion, coaxed a terrified dog out of the rubble when its mistress could not. With each visit her popularity soared.
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