Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Elizabeth Godwin is a British Army officer in the Household Cavalry. She was the first woman to commission into The Life Guards, becoming an officer in the regiment in 2020.

Early life and education

Godwin grew up in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. She comes from a military family and her grandfather, who served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, was stationed in Egypt, Gibraltar, and India. She was educated at Elm Grove School in Topsham and Exeter School, where she played

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

, was an

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

, and a member of the

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

. After Exeter, she completed her

A-levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

at Trent College. Godwin was awarded an army scholarship and a spot at

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. She studied nursing at

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 ...

while working at

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS F ...

and serving in the

Army Reserves A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional ma ...

. In 2019, while completing her military training at Sandhurst, she was awarded the

Sword of Honour The ''Sword of Honour'' is a trilogy of novels by Evelyn Waugh which loosely parallel Waugh's experiences during the World War II, Second World War. Published by Chapman & Hall from 1952 to 1961, the novels are: Men at Arms (Waugh novel), ''M ...

Military career

Godwin was the first female officer to commission into The Life Guards, joining in 2020. Women were first permitted to join the regiment in 2017. As an officer, she commanded vehicles patrolling across

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...

and led her platoon on exercises in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. In 2022, she moved to Hyde Park Barracks in London from

Bulford Camp Bulford Camp is a military camp on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1897, the site continues in use as a large British Army base. The camp is close to the village of Bulford and is about north-east of the town of Amesb ...

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but st ...

. Later that year, she rode in the processions during the

State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. Elizabeth's reign of 70 years and 214 days was the List of monarchs in Britain by length of ...

. She was present at the

Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, Camilla, as Monarchy of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth re ...

as part of the Sovereign's Escort during the processions. In 2023, Godwin led an escort of forty-seven soldiers and thirty-three horses for

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...

CHIO Aachen Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the tenth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios i ...

in Germany. She orchestrated the regiment's Musical Ride, which is a series of cavalry drills set to music, which was performed in front of forty-thousand people.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Godwin, Elizabeth Living people 21st-century British Army personnel Alumni of King's College London British Life Guards officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Members of the British Royal Household Military personnel from Devon People educated at Exeter School People educated at Trent College Women in the British Army Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)