In years gone by some might have expected a Royal Naval Captain’s wife to be seen and not heard – on the arm of her husband politely chatting to important guests at formal dinners. Not Tilda Woodard! She is a tough, headstrong Lieutenant Commander who spends time on training exercises in the mud on Dartmoor and is an accomplished triathlete with numerous trophies to her name. Steph Woolvin went up to the Royal Naval College to meet her…
When she was at school, Tilda wanted to be an astronaut, stuntwoman, secret agent or pilot: “My teachers said I couldn’t possibly be any of those things and I should pick a sensible career. I remember my father wrote a letter to the head saying his daughter could be anything she wanted to be.” Ten years later she became a Royal Air Force pilot.
Tilda was one of the first female RAF pilots: “In the military we tend to use only our rank and surname on paper so people don’t know whether we’re male or female. When I arrived at one base some people were a bit surprised, as they hadn’t realised I was going to be a girl! I think the older generation found it a little harder to get used to.” She was desperate to fly helicopters so, after completing her Basic Flying Training at RAF Linton-On-Ouse, she did her ‘Rotary Wing’ training in Shropshire. From there she had wanted to fly Support Helicopters, but was sent to Search And Rescue: “It wasn’t most people’s first choice. It’s where the older more experienced pilots end up and I was worried it might be a bit dull! However, it was probably some of the most challenging and diverse flying that I have done.” She started as a junior pilot and progressed to Operational Captain. Along the way she helped stranded climbers, rescued fishermen from sinking vessels, and even airlifted a cow from a cliff edge!
After a few years in the role, Tilda finally got to see life on the front line when she undertook an exchange on a Royal Navy Commando Squadron flying the Sea King Mk4 in support of the Royal Marines. During her tour she deployed to Bosnia, the Caribbean, Cyprus, Oman and the Indian Ocean. Her main role in Bosnia was troop support and serving as an air ambulance, operating out of a field hospital: “If people got stranded in a minefield, the best way to extract them was to winch them out by helicopter.” It was during this time that she met and married Jolyon, Captain of the Royal Naval College. After completing her three-year tour with the Royal Navy, she was offered a job flying Pumas in Northern Ireland, which is where Jolyon was also going to be stationed: “We didn’t actually see that much of each other as he worked in an office Monday to Friday and I generally worked shifts on the border.” They did, however, see enough of each other to have their first child, Anastasia, out there! Tilda was supporting the troops on the ground, often creating roadblocks and, towards the end of her tour, dismantling forts: “Jolyon was a higher rank than me so I had to call him ‘Sir’ in public, which everyone found quite amusing!”
Tilda then came back to England and trained as a helicopter instructor at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire. She flew Squirrel helicopters – light, single-engine aircraft which, she says, were fun to train new pilots in: “They have to learn how to rectify the situation, so you can’t intervene too soon and shatter their confidence. It’s about knowing exactly when to step in!” She continued instructing pilots for three and a half years during which daughter number two, Josephine, was born. After 16 years in the RAF she decided it was time to leave and join civvy street.
Tilda and Jolyon moved to Bristol in the hope of spending more time together as a family, but Jolyon then deployed to Afghanistan! So Tilda decided to take their daughters to New Zealand and Australia for six weeks to visit friends and relatives. “It was a little harder than I anticipated I must admit. A 24-hour flight with a three-year-old and one-year-old is not easy. When we arrived they wanted to sleep in the day and be awake at night!” The threesome hired a campervan for a two-week trip around New Zealand which included an impromptu bungee jump (for Tilda, not the children!). “I did remember standing on the edge thinking if something happens to me the children will be left with the nice lady in the café and their next of kin is out in Afghanistan!”
When they all returned safe and well from the other side of the world, they moved to Wiltshire for a year before settling in Somerset where they stayed for seven years. She adjusted into a family life outside of the military, setting up as a personal trainer, running fitness classes and a buggy running group. She also became a swimming teacher, working in a local swimming club and setting up her own small swim school. Twice she ran the Bristol half marathon with a buggy: “Jol ran too and he wasn’t too sure about the idea, especially because it meant we had to start near the back. But after a few admiring looks and comments from some ‘yummy mummies’ I struggled to get the buggy back off him!”
After a few years out Tilda decided to join the Royal Naval Reserves (RNR). She returned to the Sea King Mk4 as an instructor at RNAS Yeovilton. In 2016, when Tilda discovered Jolyon would become Captain at the College, she jumped at the chance of working here. She found they needed an Assistant Trainer Manager for the RNR and applied before it had been announced that her husband had landed the top job. “When I visited the College to see what my role involved, someone asked if I would be staying in married quarters somewhere on site! I just mumbled a non-committal answer. A few months later we moved into the Captain’s House!” Amongst other things, she recruits and manages RNR instructors to train officer cadets in leadership. She also helps train the regular and reserve cadets, spending several days at a time up on Dartmoor or out on the river. “On Dartmoor the cadets carry out practical leadership tasks which can include briefing and leading their team across a pretend minefield or a ravine, setting up a signal relay, rescuing a downed pilot or deactivating a fake bomb.”
It is almost like Tilda has a dual identity here at the College. If she’s in uniform the cadets salute her, but when she’s in her everyday clothes, as the Captain’s wife, they bow their head politely and call her “Ma’am”. “I enjoy having both roles. Most Captains’ wives only see the cadets in the corridors or at ceremonies, I get to work with them and see what makes them tick. It makes the passing out parades much more meaningful.”
When she isn’t training or at formal dinners Tilda will probably be doing one of three things – swimming, running or cycling. She regularly takes part in triathlons around the South West and is in the Royal Navy Triathlon Team. She was the first woman across the line in this summer’s Regatta Road Race. It seems her enthusiasm for sport is rubbing off on her daughters: “Anastasia recently did the Plymouth Cross Country with me. She did really well, coming in fifteenth.” Tilda says sport is a passion and a bit of an addiction. She will always try and do some form of exercise every day; even if it’s just a walk with Pumpkin the dog. She tries to be good with her eating and drinking habits and has realised it’s okay to decline when the tray is brought round at the many formal events she now attends: “I was brought up to eat and drink everything put in front of me, but I’ve learnt now to just say no. I try and have a dry January or February most years.”
The Woodards have a busy Christmas lined up with 18 family members arriving on Christmas Eve, but then the four of them hope to escape to Scotland over New Year. She says she isn’t the sort of lady who hopes for an expensive handbag for Christmas – top of her list is “a good practical raincoat” and a GPS watch.
First published By The Dart magazine December 2017
