Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by 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 u ...

Giles Leslie Legood, (born 1967) is a British

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest. Since July 2022 he has served as

Chaplain-in-Chief The Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch provides military chaplains for the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. Mission The Mission of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch is to serve the RAF Community through: Prayer, Presence and Proclamation. ...

of the

Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch The Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch provides military chaplains for the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. Mission The Mission of the Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch is to serve the RAF Community through: Prayer, Presence and Proclamation. ...

and

Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force The most senior Anglican chaplain in each branch of the British Armed Forces (Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force) is made an archdeacon in the Church of England. Respectively they are titled the Archdeacon for the Royal Navy, the Archdea ...

. He previously served as Deputy Chaplain-in-Chief.

Early life and education

Legood was born in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and grew up in

Bearsted Bearsted ( , ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish with railway station in mid-Kent, England, two miles (3.2 km) east of Maidstone town centre. Geography The village was historically concentrated around Church Lane a ...

. He was educated at Roseacre Junior School, and later

Maidstone Grammar School Maidstone Grammar School (MGS) is a grammar school in Maidstone, England. The school was founded in 1549 after Protector Somerset sold Corpus Christi Hall on behalf of King Edward VI to the people of Maidstone for £200. The Royal Charter for ...

. He studied at

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 ...

, graduating in 1988 with a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

(BD) degree and the

Associate of King's College The Associateship or Associate of King's College (AKC) award was the degree-equivalent qualification of King's College London from 1833. It is the original qualification that King's awarded to its students. In current practice, it is an optional ...

(AKC) qualification. He then worked in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

for two years. From 1990 to 1992, he trained for ordained ministry at

Ripon College Cuddesdon Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local ordained and lay min ...

, an

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

near Oxford. He later undertook

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

studies, graduated from Heythrop College London with a

Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...

(MTh) degree in 1998 and from

Derby University , mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher , established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status , type = Public , chancellor = William Cavendish, Ear ...

with a

Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (abbreviated DMin or D.Min.) is a professional doctorate, often including a research component, that may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in some form of ministry. It is categorized as an advanced ...

(DMin) degree in 2004.

Ordained ministry

Legood was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1992 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1993. From 1992 to 1995, he served his

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St Mary's Church,

North Mymms North Mymms is a civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire. At the 2011 Census the civil parish had a population of 8,921. The village itself is an enclosure. North Mymms Park and Brookmans Park enclose large areas of the parish. Even th ...

in the

Diocese of St Albans The Diocese of St Albans forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England and is part of the wider Church of England, in turn part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese is home to more than 1.6 million people and comprises the hi ...

. He was made Chaplain and Honorary Lecturer in the University of London in 1995.

Military service

On 20 October 2004, Legood was commissioned into the Chaplains Branch,

Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

, as a

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

. He was attached to

No. 600 Squadron RAF No. 600 (City of London) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force is a squadron of the RAF Reserves. It was formed in 1925 and operated as a night fighter squadron during the Second World War with great distinction. After the war, 600 Squadron went on t ...

, and was the RAF's first part-time chaplain. In 2007, Legood transferred to 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 ...

as a full-time chaplain. He served as chaplain to

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owners ...

, and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2013, he was promoted to the relative rank of

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 ...

. In 2015 he became senior chaplain at

RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney. The station ...

. During his time there, and earlier in service, he joined detachments to the Falkland Islands, Germany, Cyprus, Ascension Island, Kenya and Saudi Arabia. In 2017, Legood was promoted to Deputy Chaplain-in-Chief (Operations) and was based at Headquarters Air Command. From 2021 to 2022, Legood attended the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

. On 5 August 2022, on completion of his course, he was appointed Chaplain in Chief (head of the RAF Chaplains Branch) and promoted to the relative rank of

air vice-marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by 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 u ...

. As the most senior Anglican chaplain, he also additionally serves as

, and was

collated Collation is the assembly of written information into a standard order. Many systems of collation are based on numerical order or alphabetical order, or extensions and combinations thereof. Collation is a fundamental element of most office filin ...

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

Hugh Nelson Hugh Nelson may refer to: *Hugh Nelson (Australian politician) (1833–1906), Premier of Queensland, Australia * Hugh Nelson (American politician) (1768–1836), U.S. Representative from Virginia *Hugh Nelson (Canadian politician) (1830–1893), Can ...

, Bishop to the Armed Forces, during a service at

St Clement Danes St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current ...

on 11 September 2022.

Honours and decorations

In 2014, Legood was appointed a

Member 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 ...

(MBE) in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Afghanistan during the period 1 April 2013 to 30 September 2013. This made him the first RAF chaplain to receive an operational honour since the Second World War. On 22 July 2018, he was made an

Honorary Chaplain to the Queen An Honorary Chaplain to the King (KHC) is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning monarch is female, Honorary Ch ...

(QHC). Upon the succession of King Charles III, he became an Honorary Chaplain to the King (KHC). He is also a recipient of the Iraq Medal, the

Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan The Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan is a campaign medal previously awarded by the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom for service by British Armed Forces personnel in support of the post-2001 Afghan War. Operational Service Meda ...

, the

Operational Service Medal Iraq and Syria The Operational Service Medal Iraq and Syria or Operation Shader Medal is a British armed forces campaign medal, awarded mostly to military personnel who served in the operational area of, or in support of Operation Shader. The medal was first a ...

, the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

, and

Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de platine de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal created to mark the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accessi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legood, Giles Leslie Living people 1967 births People from Maidstone Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force Chaplains-in-Chief 20th-century English Anglican priests 21st-century English Anglican priests Honorary Chaplains to the King Church of England archdeacons (military) 21st-century Royal Air Force personnel Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Maidstone Grammar School Alumni of King's College London Associates of King's College London Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Alumni of Heythrop College Alumni of the University of Derby Royal Air Force personnel of the Iraq War Royal Air Force personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)