Originally from Co. Down Northern Ireland, Liz joined the RAF on her 19th birthday and went onto become the longest serving female crewman on the RAF Chinook Fleet, spanning a 17-year career flying. She was the youngest aircrew to deploy to Iraq at 21 and the only female crewman on the Chinook wing for 4 years, her story is completely unique.
During her career, Liz amassed 2 deployments to Iraq and 10 deployments to Helmand Afghanistan, giving her an insightful and very personal perspective on war.
Upon leaving the RAF in 2019 she slowly unravelled after a series of traumatic events that compounded her PTSD. This led to her trying to end her life in Aug 2020.
She survived and went into the Veterans Mental Health care system to process her demons and finally lay the images she had seen on the battlefield to rest. During this time, she began writing poetry and subsequently her autobiography.
Chinook Crew Chick, released in Sept 2022 became an Amazon Bestseller in just 3 weeks. It is an honest and humorous account of her ‘best of times and worst of times’ and how her experiences flying on the Chinook have changed and moulded her into the woman she has become. Her story offers hope to those who have also found themselves in the darkest of places, and who are looking within themselves to rebuild a pathway to a new life.
With a significant social media footprint, Liz is now an ambassador for mental health, PTSD and trauma, setting the example that PTSD does not have to be your identity, it can simply be a chapter of your life which can provide growth and mental resilience going forward.
Liz now works Internationally as a motivational speaker and event host. In 2023 she won Defence woman of the year and was nominated for UK Woman of Year. 2024 saw her take on the new role of Combat Stress Mental Health Ambassador the face of the UK Veterans Awards.
