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{{short description|British Army officer}}
[[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] '''Anne Field''', [[Aide-de-Camp|ADC Hon]] (née '''Hodgson'''; 4 April 1926 – 25 June 2011) was a senior British military officer. She served as Director of the [[Women's Royal Army Corps]] from 1977 to 1982.▼
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]]
| name = Anne Field
| honorific_suffix = [[Companion of the Order of the Bath|CB]] [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] [[Aide-de-Camp|ADC Hon]]
| birth_name = Anne Hodgson
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|4|4|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|6|25|1926|4|4|df=y}}
| death_place =
| allegiance = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| branch = [[Auxiliary Territorial Service]]<br />[[Women's Royal Army Corps]]
| serviceyears = 1947–1982
| rank = [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]]
| servicenumber = 399675
| unit =
| commands =
| battles =
| battles_label =
| awards =
| memorials =
| spouse = Anthony Field (1956 – 1961)
| relations =
| laterwork =
| signature =
| signature_size =
| signature_alt =
| website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| module =
}}
▲[[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] '''Anne Field'''
==Military career==
Field began her military career as a [[Private (rank)|private]] in the [[Auxiliary Territorial Service]] (ATS).<ref name="Oxford DNB">{{cite
Her first posting as an officer was as a [[platoon commander]] based in the United Kingdom.<ref name="obit - Scotsman">{{cite news|title=Obituary: Brigadier Anne Field CB, CBE, army professional|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-brigadier-anne-field-cb-cbe-army-professional-1-1776862|accessdate=5 April 2015|work=The Scotsman|date=27 July 2011}}</ref> On 1 February 1949, the ATS became the [[Women's Royal Army Corps]] (WRAC). Therefore, she became an officer of the WRAC and, for the first time, became subject to [[military law]].<ref name="Oxford DNB" /> She had applied for overseas service upon her commission. The opportunity came for this during the [[Malayan Emergency]] (1948 to 1960) and she was posted to [[Singapore]].<ref name="obit - Telegraph" /><ref name="obit - Times">{{cite news|title=Brigadier Anne Field|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/obituaries/article3077583.ece|accessdate=5 April 2015|work=The Times|date=29 June 2011}}</ref> From 1951 to 1953, she served there as [[officer commanding]] of the 4th Independent Company, WRAC; a unit of 400 female personnel.<ref name="Oxford DNB" /><ref name="obit - Times" />
She returned to England at the end of her posting to Singapore. In 1953, she attended a six-month course at the WRAC [[Staff College]], [[Frimley Park]].<ref name="obit - Telegraph" /> Having completed the course, she was posted to the Staff Duties branch of the [[War Office]].<ref name="obit - Times" /> Her next posting were as a [[Staff (military)|staff officer]] of the London University WRAC [[Officer Training Corps]], and then as [[adjutant]] of 317 (Scottish) [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|TA]] Battalion WRAC.<ref name="Oxford DNB" />
In 1961, she was promoted to [[Major (United Kingdom)|major]] and appointed chief instructor at the WRAC Centre, [[Guildford]].<ref name="obit - Telegraph" /> In 1963, after two years as an instructor, she was posted as a grade 2 staff officer to HQ [[British Forces Aden|Middle East Command]] in [[Aden]]. The British [[Colony of Aden]] had become the [[State of Aden]] but there was an [[insurgency]] against British rule that became the [[Aden Emergency]].<ref name="Oxford DNB" /> She was responsible for the [[welfare]] of soldiers and their families based in the region. She made a point of visiting troops in even the most dangerous places, which won her approval from her male colleagues.<ref name="obit - Telegraph" /> She had the additional role of notifying the families of casualties and her experience of the conditions that they had faced gave her letters authenticity.<ref name="obit - Scotsman" />
After a spell in Germany, she was promoted to colonel in December 1971, and appointed as Commandant of the WRAC College, Camberley. In 1975 she was appointed as Deputy Director WRAC. In 1977 she was promoted to Brigadier and appointed as Director WRAC.<ref name="obit - Telegraph" />
==Later life==
Having served in [[Aden]] in the 1960s during the [[Aden Emergency]], she became patron of the Aden Veterans' Association in 2002<ref name="Oxford DNB" /> She died on 25 June 2011, aged 85<ref name="Oxford DNB" /> and is buried in the churchyard of [[St_Kentigern's_Church,_Crosthwaite| St Kentigern's parish church, Crosthwaite, Keswick, Cumbria]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Field |first1=Anne |title=Brigadier |url=https://billiongraves.com/grave/Brig-Anne-Field-Hodgson-CB-CBE/117309739 |website=BillionGraves |access-date=25 February 2024}}</ref>
==Personal life==
On 17 March 1956, she married Captain Anthony Field (born 1927). He was a [[British Army]] officer who at the time of their marriage was serving in [[West Germany]] with the [[British Army of the Rhine]].<ref name="Oxford DNB" /> They did not have any children and divorced in 1961 after five years of marriage.<ref name="obit - Telegraph" />
==Honours and decorations==
On 1 June 1977, Field was appointed [[Aide-de-Camp|Honorary Aide-de-Camp]] (ADC Hon) to [[Queen Elizabeth II]].<ref name="LG 13 June 1977">{{London Gazette |issue=47245 |date=13 June 1977 |
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Anne}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
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[[Category:Women's Royal Army Corps officers]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Aden Emergency]]
[[Category:British Army brigadiers]]
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