First woman to head historic private force picks up her battleaxe
BRITAIN’S oldest private police force has appointed its first female head.
Lucy Lewis, 54, began her career in the Army, detonating Second World War bombs, but is now leading Cambridge University’s private constabulary, one of the oldest in the world. It dates back to 1825, and its officers hold powers of a regular constable within a five-mile radius of Great St Mary’s in Cambridge.
Mother-of-two Mrs Lewis, who was also Britain’s first female bomb disposal expert, was appointed on April 2. She said: “I am delighted and deeply honoured to be the first woman to be appointed to the historic post of University Marshal. It is a very different job to what I have previously done but I very much enjoy doing it.
“We are all dressed in a top hat and tail and carry medieval weapons dating back to 1485. The clothing itself is not heavy to wear but the number of layers can be the difficult part. When it comes to the summer we have got three layers of wool, so it can get hot but it is not uncomfortable.
“But it is quite an impressive sight when you have got a two-metre-long battleaxe. Lots of people aren’t sure who we are when we walk through the streets of Cambridge, so we are photographed a lot.”