Lucy Giles

Colonel Lucy Margaret Giles CBE (born 1969) is a former British Army officer. In 2016, she was the first woman appointed as a College Commander at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and was later President of the Army Officer Selection Board and Colonel Commandant of the Royal Logistic Corps.

Early life

Born in Yeovil, Somerset, in June 1969,[1][2] Giles was educated at King Arthur's School, Wincanton, and then in the sixth form of Sexey's School, Bruton. She studied Biology at the University of Exeter, where she joined the Officers' Training Corps.[3] On 29 September 1989, while at Exeter, she was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant into the Territorial Army and the Women's Royal Army Corps.[4]

Career

On 5 January 1991, Giles transferred as a 2nd Lieutenant to the Regular Army's Royal Corps of Transport.[5] She was promoted to Captain in the Royal Logistic Corps in April 1995.[6] In June 2011, she was promoted from Major to Lt. Colonel,[7] and then in December 2018 to full Colonel.[8]

In the British Army, Giles served on operations in Sierra Leone, East Timor, Bosnia, Iraq, Northern Ireland, and Afghanistan.[9] Soon after a tour of Northern Ireland, she took a short maternity leave, and within a year became the first woman given command of 47 Air Despatch Squadron, a unit transporting supplies by air to British troops around the world.[10] In January 2016, she was appointed as college commander at Sandhurst, commanding New College, where Officer Cadets spend the second and third terms of their three-term Commissioning Course.[11][12][13] This was not the post of Commandant of Sandhurst, at the time held by Major General Paul Nanson.[14]

From 2019 to 2022, Giles was President of the Army Officer Selection Board at Westbury, Wiltshire.[15][16]

On 1 January 2025, Giles became Colonel Commandant of the Royal Logistic Corps.[17] She retired from the army as a Colonel on 5 January 2026.[18]

Personal life

In 1998, Giles married a Royal Artillery officer, Nicholas Pond, now a retired Brigadier. They have a son and a daughter.[15][19][20]

Honours

References

  1. ↑ "Lucy Margaret Giles", Companies House, accessed 27 March 2026
  2. ↑ "Giles Lucy Margaret". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  3. ↑ "University of Exeter".
  4. ↑ The London Gazette, Supplement 51942, 20 November 1989, p. 13428
  5. ↑ The London Gazette, Supplement 52885, 6 April 1992, p. 6177
  6. ↑ The London Gazette, Supplement 54160, 18 September 1995, p. 12685
  7. ↑ The London Gazette, Supplement59840, 5 July 2011, p. 12725
  8. ↑ The London Gazette, Supplement 62519, 2 January 2019, p. 23735
  9. ↑ "HM Armed Forces". Facebook.
  10. ↑ "Sandhurst boss: sorry but I'm pregnant". The Times. 19 December 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to get first female college commander". BBC News. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "First female College Commander at Sandhurst - British Army Website". Army.mod.uk. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  13. ↑ Ian Johnston (13 December 2015). "Lt-Col Lucy Giles becomes first woman commander appointed to lead at Sandhurst | Home News | News". The Independent. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "Army Commands", Gulabin, accessed 27 Match 2026
  15. 1 2 3 "Colonel Lucy Giles". ALUMNI & FRIENDS. Sexey's School. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  16. ↑ "President AOSB Lucy Giles". Twitter. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  17. ↑ The London Gazette, Supplement 64665, 25 February 2025, p. 3483
  18. ↑ The London Gazette, Supplement 64955, 6 January 2026, p. 69
  19. ↑ "Lucy M Giles" in England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005, accessed 25 March 2026
  20. ↑ "Joint Forces Command Operational Honours announced", gov.uk, accessed 25 March 2026
  21. ↑ The London Gazette, Supplement 63432, 3 August 2021, p. 13649
  22. ↑ London Gazette, "Order of the British Empire: Colonel Lucy Margaret GILES", 29 December 2023, accessed 25 March 2026


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