An Army officer based in Andover will become the highest ranked female ever when Brigadier Susan Ridge becomes Major General Susan Ridge, the new Director General Army Legal Services.
The appointment, due in September, will make her the first female Major General (2-Star) in the British Army.
Currently working as Director Legal Advisory, Brigadier Ridge and her team provide legal advice on discipline and administrative law. Her new role will cover a much wider remit. She will look across the whole of Army Legal Services which provides legal support to the Army in barracks, on training and on operations.
She attended a state secondary school, completed a history degree, and then transferred to the law and is a qualified solicitor. She enjoys antiques and travelling with her family, while pursuing her love of obscure fiction.
Brigadier Ridge said “The Army is a constantly evolving organisation which has provided a varied and interesting legal career. It has allowed me the opportunity to develop and progress throughout my working life. I feel very honoured and privileged to have been given this opportunity.”
“I was working in private practice, specialising in land and property law, but reached a point where I felt the need to seek a greater challenge. I have now spent 23 years with Army Legal Services, employed in a wide range of legal appointments.”
“I am exceptionally lucky that my husband, also a serving officer, has been hugely supportive of my work and takes on much of the responsibility of managing family and home life, while also juggling his own career. There have been occasions when he has been posted away, we have done long periods of weekend commuting and he has done tours in the Balkans and Afghanistan. But largely it has worked so well because he has been on-side.”
“My team and I have been involved in the current System of Service Complaints and is advising the Army on the new Service Complaints System. This will certainly provide useful background knowledge and understanding of what is being developed for my next appointment.”
You can find out more about being a Legal Officer in the British Army on their website.
