First female Guards officer ‘was pushed over sofa’ by ex-lover
THE first woman to be commissioned as a Guards Division officer was knocked unconscious when a former lover pushed her over a sofa at a regimental dinner, a court has heard.
Lieut Patrick Mcgregor is accused of shoving 2nd Lieut Hannah Bird, 27, as she tried to leave the room after a “confrontation” between them in July 2021.
The reservist had graduated in April last year from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as the first female officer in the Guards Division.
Giving evidence at a court martial, 2nd Lieut Bird said Lieut Mcgregor had attacked her after an argument over him leaving her “embarrassed” earlier in the evening at a formal dinner.
Lieut Mcgregor denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm and an alternative charge of battery. His lawyers said 2nd Lieut Bird fell because she was “drunk” and “wearing high heels”.
Bulford Military Court, Wilts, heard that the pair began a relationship after 2nd Lieut Bird transferred to the London Guards – the Army Reserves battalion of the Guards Division – in December 2019, and was under Lieut Mcgregor’s command.
At the start of last year, 2nd Lieut Bird ended their relationship. The pair next met at a regimental associates dinner at the Cavalry and Guards Club in London months later.
After exchanging pleasantries, 2nd Lieut Bird said she became “embarrassed” when Lieut Mcgregor kept interrupting her conversations.
The reservist said after entering a separate room, she told Lieut Mcgregor not to embarrass her. She said when she tried to leave, Lieut Mcgregor “used both hands to push me backwards. It was a forceful push and I next remember waking up on the other side of the sofa”.
Matthew Bolt, for Lieut Mcgregor, told 2nd Lieut Bird: “You lost balance because you were too close to Lieut Mcgregor, you were wearing high heels and you were drunk.”
The trial continues.