A ROYAL Air Force nurse who helped treat the severely wounded at the former Wroughton military hospital has won a compensation claim against the Ministry of Defence after accusing the RAF of favouring men over women in promotion in the medical field.

Wendy Williams left Wroughton to go on to become the highest ranking RAF nurse as a Group Captain, Birming-ham Employment Tribunal was told.

She complained she was not selected for the position of Commodore in the Defence Medical Group, because she was a woman. A male group captain got the top medical job instead of Ms Williams.

She told a previous tribunal hearing: “It was apparent the promotion process was stacked against me as a nurse and midwife.”

She sought compensation for sex discrimination against the MoD after complaining she has been humiliated, demoralised and ‘totally let down’ by the RAF’s attitude towards promoting women.

Ms Williams accused the RAF of a lack of transparency.

Tribunal judge Victoria Dean said at the previous hearing that a decision would be made at a later date.

Now Miss Dean has announced that Ms Williams was discriminated against because of her gender.

Thousands of pounds in compensation is expected to be awarded at a later hearing.

Miss Dean said the tribunal had been told that only six of 470 top positions among the Armed Forces medical staff had been held by women between 2011 and 2012.

Ms Williams was a ward manager at Wroughton’s Princess Alexandra military hospital, treating severely wounded servicemen and women before she was promoted to group captain and was said to have made a big impression with her work at the time.

Ms Williams’ work was praised by Brigadier John Parker at the tribunal hearing.

He said :”Her performance, during a very demanding period, revealed an officer of great skill, energy, drive and potential as well as having an excellent understanding of the operational environment of an NHS Trust.”

Retired Air Vice Marshall Evans described Ms Williams’s work as “outstanding in managing an unprecedented number of seriously injured operational casualties”.

The hospital closed in 1996 because of government cuts.

Ms Williams, who is due to retire next month, has since moved to Cambridgeshire.

Her compensation claim had been opposed by the Ministry of Defence. Mr Edmund Beever, representing the respondents, said Ms Williams’ sex discrimination allegation had been totally denied.