Dame Dawn Elizabeth Childs ( Elson; born 29 November 1970) is a British engineer who has moved between several engineering disciplines including mechanical engineering,

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...

and civil engineering. She has been the first woman engineer in several posts in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF) and the first female head of engineering at a major international airport. Childs has a track record of developing women within her organisation as well as working to bring more women and girls into the discipline. Childs is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Pure Data Centre Group (Operations) Ltd, following her role as UK Change Director at

National Grid plc National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks ...

Education

Childs was educated in Bedgebury Girls School and at the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

where she read mechanical engineering. She continued with higher education on executive courses with a Master of Defence Administration from

Cranfield University , mottoeng = After clouds light , established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name) , type = Public research uni ...

and a Master of Arts in defence studies from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

Career

Childs joined the RAF straight from school having been awarded a cadetship as an engineering officer. Whilst reading mechanical engineering at Bath University she was a member of

Bristol University Air Squadron Bristol University Air Squadron is a University Air Squadron connected to the University of Bristol, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north ...

before officer training at

RAF College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

. During 23 years service in the RAF she had numerous postings and was the first female officer to hold many of her appointments. Most notably Childs was the first female Senior Engineering Officer (SEngO) on 216 Squadron and the first female Officer Commanding Engineering Wing (OC Eng Wg) 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 ...

where she was responsible for the operational maintenance and logistics of Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) aircraft based there. Childs left the RAF in 2012 and moved to

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

where she was the first female to become the Head of Engineering at a major International airport. From Gatwick, Childs moved to Merlin Entertainments plc in 2016 and established a new central engineering function covering the governance and standards for the global portfolio of over 120 theme parks and attractions. In 2014 she became an Ambassador for

Alton College HSDC Alton, formerly known as Alton College, is located in Alton, Hampshire, England. In addition to offering A Levels, the College provides an adult education service to the local population. It was built in 1978 and was one of the first institu ...

. In 2015 she was appointed as a non-executive director for World Skills UK. In 2019 Childs departed Merlin Entertainments to take the role of UK Change Director at National Grid. In August 2021 Childs was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer, Pure Data Centre Group (Operations) Ltd.

Honours and awards

In 1997, Childs was awarded the Barrie Smart Memorial Award for her significant contribution to the RAF community and subsequently gained her pilot's licence. She won the CBI and Real Business First Women Award in Tourism & Leisure in 2013 for being the first female head of engineering at a major International airport. In 2014 she was bestowed with an honorary Doctorate of Science by

Staffordshire University , mottoeng = Dare to know , type = Public , endowment = £70 million (2015) , administrative_staff = 1,375 , chancellor = Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford , vice_chancellor = Professor Martin Jones , ...

in 2014 in recognition of her notable contribution to mechanical and aeronautical engineering in her then-current role at Gatwick and throughout her career with the RAF. It also recognises her dedicated engagement with education by promoting the study of

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

subjects. Her work to promote STEM subjects and engineering to children and young adults was further recognised in 2015 when she won the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

's Alistair Graham-Bryce Award for: "her significant contributions to campaigning for the promotion of engineering to children, students, young adults and particularly women". In 2016, Childs was named as one of the top 50 most influential women engineers in the UK by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' and

Women's Engineering Society The Women's Engineering Society is a United Kingdom professional learned society and networking body for women engineers, scientists and technologists. It was the first professional body set up for women working in all areas of engineering, pred ...

. Childs is the current elected President of the

, having first been elected in 2018. Childs was elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

in September 2020 in recognition of her contributions to the engineering profession. She was appointed

Dame Commander 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 ...

(DBE) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 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 ...

for services to engineering.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Childs, Dawn English military engineers 1970 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Royal Air Force wing commanders Presidents of the Women's Engineering Society British women engineers Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Female Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Women in the Royal Air Force English mechanical engineers English civil engineers Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire