First Women featured in the BBC’s Festival of Remembrance

Anita’s iconic image of Lt Col Lucy Giles featured in this year’s Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. The photograph was shown in a short video in recognition of this year’s centenary of women serving in the British Armed Forces.

Presented by Huw Edwards, the annual event was held in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen and members of the royal family to remember all victims of war including those in present day conflict.

The beginning of the programme included interviews with three generations of women in the armed forces and featured First Woman Lieutenant Colonel Lucy Giles, who was also amongst the 100 serving women who marched into the Royal Albert Hall to celebrate 100 years of women in the Armed Forces.

During her interview, the BBC showed the photograph of Lieutenant Colonel Lucy Giles, Sandhurst’s first ever woman to lead New College since 1946. On the day that Anita photographed her, the opportunity for some extraordinary documentary photographs was also presented – as “integrated platoons” passed out from the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for the first time ever in history.

As we near next years’ official launch of the First Women Exhibition, this centenary celebration further illustrates the change in attitudes that existed leading up to the momentous Representation of the People Act in 1918 when women in the UK were first able to vote.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and twitter for exclusive news of the official launch event.
To watch the Festival of Remembrance on BBC iPlayer click here. The portrait is featured exactly 8 mins into the programme.