Group Captain Anne-Marie Houghton (née Dawe; born 26 August 1968) is an RAF officer and was the RAF's first female fully qualified navigator in 1991.

Early life

She was born in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

in north

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. She was born on the day before that of

Jo Salter Joanna Mary Salter (born 27 August 1968, in Bournemouth) is a former Royal Air Force pilot, and was Britain's first female fast jet pilot flying the Panavia Tornado ground attack aircraft with 617 Squadron. She later became an inspirational spe ...

, the RAF's first female fast-jet pilot. She was brought up in

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed ...

, near

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. She has an older brother and two younger brothers. She was head girl at her school.

Career

RAF

She became an officer on 27 August 1987, from that of

Aircraftwoman Aircraftman (AC) or aircraftwoman (ACW) is the lowest rank in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries. In RAF slang, aircraftmen are sometimes called "erks". Aircraftman ranks below leading ai ...

with the WRAF. She began training with the RAF as a navigator (on multi-engined aircraft) on Monday 18 September 1989 at

RAF Finningley Royal Air Force Finningley or RAF Finningley was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station at Finningley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The station straddled the historic county boundaries of both ...

, when a Pilot Officer and aged 21, with Pilot Officer Sally Hawkins from Wolverhampton, aged 20, and Flying Officer Wendy Smith from Bournemouth, aged 25. They trained on the twin-engined HS 125, for many years with the RAF for training pilots and navigators on multi-engined aircraft. On 1 March 1991, 22-year-old Flying Officer Anne-Marie Dawe qualified from No. 6 Flying Training School RAF in

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

. She had been there for eighteen months, being presented with her navigator insignia by Air Chief Marshal

Brendan Jackson Air Chief Marshal Sir Brendan James Jackson, (23 August 1935 – 19 November 1998) was a Royal Air Force officer who became Deputy Commander of RAF Strike Command. RAF career Born on 23 August 1935, Jackson was educated at Chichester High Sch ...

, becoming the first female RAF commissioned air crew.

Julie Ann Gibson Flight Lieutenant Julie Ann Gibson was the first full-time female pilot for the Royal Air Force when she graduated in 1991. Previously a ground-based officer, later selected for flying training. She was subsequently assigned to No. 32 Squadron RAF ...

would be the second RAF commissioned air crew in June 1991. She was posted to No.242 Operational Conversion Unit at

RAF Lyneham Royal Air Force Lyneham otherwise known as RAF Lyneham was a Royal Air Force station located northeast of Chippenham, Wiltshire, and southwest of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transpor ...

, on the four-engine

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. From June 2010 to July 2012 she was the Officer Commanding of 54(R) Squadron at

RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England. The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...

North Kesteven North Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The district is located to the east of Nottinghamshire, north-east of Leicestershire and south of the city of Lincoln. Its council, North Kesteven District Council, is bas ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

; at the time, she was the only female commander of an RAF squadron. In 2011 she flew with 907

Expeditionary Air Wing On 1 April 2006 Expeditionary Air Wings (EAWs) were formed at nine of the RAF's Main Operating Bases. Each EAW has its own identity and is led by the Station Commander, supported by his Station management team. The deployable elements of the st ...

. She works with the Royal Air Force Winter Sports Association, and RAF Swimming. She was promoted from Flight Lieutenant to Squadron Leader on 1 January 2003, to

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

on 1 July 2008, and to Group Captain on 9 October 2017. During the RAF100 Celebrations in 2018, Group Captain Houghton served as the Parade Commander outside Buckingham Palace. Houghton was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

Deployment of women with the RAF

At first, women were to be allowed as pilots and navigators on transport aircraft, such as the Hercules, and helicopters, but not fast-jet aircraft. On 16 December 1991, it was announced that women could fly in fast-jet aircraft too. By August 1996, there were 111 female air crew in the RAF, with 20 working as navigators, 16 instructors, and 16 female pilots. 21 were in training as aircrew. But women were restricted from many frontline roles in the British Army, such as tanks.

Navigators within the RAF

Navigators became

weapon systems officer A Weapon Systems Officer (WSO), nicknamed "Wizzo", is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft. Historically, aircrew duties in military aircraft were highly specialised and rigi ...

s (WSO) as the electronics (

avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...

) onboard aircraft largely replaced the purpose of navigators, or did much of their work.

Involvement in the Royal Air Force Air Cadets

She currently serves as the Honorary President of No.1483 (Brentwood) Squadron of Essex Wing RAFAC. Currently Group Captain Houghton is a service instructor at 155 (Maidenhead) Sqn in Thames Valley Wing Air Cadets.

Personal life

She married in September 1995 in

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

; her husband, now deceased, was a former Fleet Air Arm helicopter pilot. She lives in

. In December 2012, she was on the cover of ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good House ...

''.

References

External links

RAF Museum

RAF History in the 1990s

Women of the Royal Air Force

RAF Swimming

Her research report on women in combat duties in western militaries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houghton, Anne-Marie 1968 births British aviation pioneers Military personnel from Barnstaple People from Hornchurch Women's Royal Air Force officers Living people Royal Air Force officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Women's Royal Air Force airwomen