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A Jersey woman has made history, becoming the first ever woman appointed to the rank of Admiral in the Royal Navy.
Commodore Jude Terry OBE, who has served in the Navy for nearly 25 years, has been promoted to Rear Admiral, becoming the most senior woman ever given the role in the centuries-long history of the Royal Navy.
Pictured: Commodore Terry attended a dinner for VIPS aboard the HMS Ocean in 2016.
The Commodore will be promoted to the role next year, and will take over as the Navy’s Director of People and Training and Naval Secretary.
She is currently serving as Deputy Director of the department she is earmarked to take over, with the goal of helping shape the Royal Navy up to 2040.
Commodore Terry (47) joined the Navy in 1997, spending the bulk of her career in Plymouth-based warships, including survey vessel HMS Scott and two spells with helicopter carrier HMS Ocean.
Her career has spanned the globe, with her role taking her to locations as wide ranging as the Gulf and Middle East, Indian Ocean, Far East and the Caribbean.
On 12-month second draft to HMS Ocean when she spent 10 weeks away in the Baltic and Gulf, and she also was responsible for working with the team producing Channel 4 documentary series ‘Warship'.
Pictured: Jude Terry as Captain in Oman during Exercise Saif Sareea.
In addition to her work across various staff appointments through the years, Commodore Terry was awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours list in 2017 for her efforts during three years at the UK military’s operational hub, Permanent Joint Headquarters.
During her time there, she was involved in the end of Britain’s front-line operations in Afghanistan, overseeing the closure of bases at Saskar Gar, Bastion and Kandahar, and the successful efforts to curb the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa in 2014-2015.
On her historic achievement, Commodore Terry simply remarked that “someone has to be first.”
Looking at the promotion more broadly, she continued: “I have always thought of myself as a naval officer first, then a logistics officer, then Jude and finally as a female.”
Pictured: Commodore Terry during her time as a Captain, pictured alongside Commodore Andrew Burns.
She continued: “The Navy genuinely doesn’t look at your gender and is an equal opportunities employer – it wants you to be part of a team and deliver outputs to support operations.
“I have been really lucky throughout my career. I’ve enjoyed great jobs, wonderful support from my family, worked with great people, seized the opportunity to see the world and contribute to a number of operations which have made a difference to people’s lives including Afghanistan, Somalia and Sierra Leone to name a few.”
First Sea Lord Admiral Tony Radakin said: “I am delighted with Commodore Jude Terry’s selection for promotion to Rear Admiral.
“Jude is part of a cohort of trailblazers in the Royal Navy who have seized the opportunities on offer, and risen to the top. This builds on a rich career of naval and broader Defence appointments, all of which she has excelled at.”
Meanwhile, Commodore Terry's mother, Margaret, described herself as "the proudest mum on the planet."
Pictured top: Commodore Terry in front of HMS Victory.
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