Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometime ...

Alison Mardell (born 23 September 1968) is a British

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

and retired

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) officer. From 2017 to 2019, she has served as Director of Legal Services (RAF) and head of the RAF Legal Branch.

Early life and education

Mardell was born on 23 September 1968 in

Bewdley Bewdley ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley, and is west of Kidderminster, north of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham. It ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, England. She studied law at

Bristol Polytechnic The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England, UK. With more than 39,912 students and 4,300 staff, it is the largest provider of higher education in t ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(LLB) degree. She studied for the Law Society's Final Examination at Birmingham Polytechnic, and was admitted as a

on 17 October 1994. Mardell continued her studies after joining the Royal Air Force. She studied

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, graduating with a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

(LLM) degree in 2003. While attending the

Joint Services Command and Staff College Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) is a British Armed Forces academic establishment that provides training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and offic ...

, she studied for a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) degree in defence studies from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, which she completed in 2009.

Military career

On 6 February 1997, Mardell was commissioned into the Legal Branch of the

(RAF) as a flight lieutenant. She then worked as a legal adviser at the Joint Force Air Component Headquarters. She was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

on 6 February 2001. In 2003, as part of Operation TELIC 1, she was deployed to Iraq: she was the first RAF lawyer to be deployed to that theatre. After returning to the United Kingdom, she was posted as legal advisor to the Air Warfare Centre. She was promoted to

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

on 6 February 2007. She attended the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the

Shrivenham Shrivenham is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Faringdon. The village is close to the county boundary with Wiltshire and about east-northeast of the centre of Swindon. The 201 ...

, Oxfordshire. She was promoted to

group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

on 1 January 2011. She was then posted as Command Legal Adviser to

Headquarters Air Command Air Command is the only Command currently active in the Royal Air Force. It was formed by the merger of Royal Air Force Strike and Personnel and Training commands on 1 April 2007, and has its headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire ...

. In February 2014, Mardell was appointed Deputy Director of Legal Services (RAF) and promoted to

air commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

. On 29 April 2017, she was appointed Director Legal Services (RAF) and promoted to

air vice-marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometime ...

. As such, she was head of the RAF Legal Branch, principal legal adviser to the Chief of the Air Staff and the

Air Force Board The Air Force Board of the Defence Council is responsible for the management of the Royal Air Force. Prior to the creation of the current UK Ministry of Defence in 1964, the administration of the RAF and its personnel was undertaken by the ...

, and attended the Air Force Board Standing Committee. Mardell retired on 7 February 2019.

Honours

In 2002, Mardell was awarded the

Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal may refer to: * Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee Medal (1887) * Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal () or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal creat ...

, a commemorative medal awarded to active personnel in the British Armed Forces who had completed 5 years of qualifying service. She was awarded the Iraq Medal without clasp in 2003. In 2012, she was awarded the

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal may refer to: * Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal (1897) * Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal ...

. She has been awarded the RAF Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, a long service medal recognising 15 years service: she qualified for this medal in 2012, but was only awarded it in 2016 when the criteria were changed to make officers eligible.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mardell, Alison 1968 births Living people British solicitors Royal Air Force air marshals Female air marshals of the Royal Air Force British women lawyers Military personnel from Worcestershire People from Bewdley Alumni of the University of the West of England, Bristol Alumni of Birmingham City University Alumni of the University of Bristol Graduates of Joint Services Command and Staff College Alumni of King's College London 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Royal Air Force personnel of the Iraq War