Winifred Bambera

Bambera, as she appears in Battlefield

Brigadier **Winifred Bambera** was a member of UNIT in the United Kingdom.

## Biography

### UNIT Career

Sometime after Crichton's departure, she was promoted to Brigadier. As Brigadier and leader of UNIT, she worked with the Seventh Doctor and retired UNIT Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart against Mordred, when he and his knights came across a dimensional gateway in Carbury. She also met and fought alongside the knight Ancelyn. She took a quick liking to both Doris Lethbridge-Stewart and Ace; after the battle, the three drove off for a "girls' day out". (TV: *Battlefield*)

Bambera was later asked to send reinforcements to help Guinevere by the Eighth Doctor, whom she came to trust through Ancelyn's prior knowledge of him. She helped to prepare tactics for her own troops as well as Guinevere's in the event of the Green Knight launching an attack, and led her troops into battle against the Sontarans. She told the Doctor it was her duty to help when needed, and left soon after. (TV: *The Green Knight*)

Bambera summoned the Doctor back to Earth to help investigate strange goings-on at the University of Advanced Galactic Education, and later helped him in overriding the Rani's Network. (TV: *Network*)

After UNIT took control of the office block Norman Manning was hiding in, Bambera asked the Doctor to try and talk to Norman. Upon being briefed on *it*, Bambera told her men to take positions near to the walls and fire on her command. She drove the bomb designed to kill *it* to an open field, and later primed the bombs remnants to transport *it* into the TARDIS' time rotor, on the Doctor's instructions. (TV: *Nothing*)

Bambera was talking with scientific advisor Kate Lethbridge-Stewart at UNIT facility 236 when 001 broke the Rani out of her cell. She was shocked when she learned what had happened, and ordered several search parties out to recapture her, only for them to never return. She and Kate called the Ninth Doctor, with whom she helped incapacitate 001 when he raided the facility. After 001 regained consciousness, she and Lena Haigh went to shoot him, but were stopped by the Doctor. She stayed behind when 001 offered to take the group to the Rani's HQ in order to get together troops, later leading a raid on the Rani's HQ based on what 001 had said. (TV: *Evolution*)

Bambera was contacted by Norman Manning about a wormhole connecting the Pyramid to the Capitol on Gallifrey, and arrived at the same time as the Doctor. She initially assisted Kate in setting up scientific equipment to analyse the wormhole, but decided to take the initiative and warn the crew of an Earth Empire vessel after the wormhole expanded into one of their corridors. Soon after, interdimensional monsters appeared through the wormhole, with Bambera leading the fight against them alongside Lena and Chief Vicegerent Romana. She was knocked to the ground by one such monster, however, before it could kill her, it was shot down by Norman. She witnessed the portal's closing thanks to the pooling of energy from the Pyramid, the Capitol, the Earth Empire vessel, the TARDIS and the Doctor's regeneration. (TV: *Visions of Tomorrow*)

## Personality

Brigadier Bambera enjoyed making an impression, especially during moments which would be recorded for posterity, and liked seeing so many people under her command. She preferred to be called "sir" rather than "ma'am". (TV: *Battlefield*) She took her job as a commander seriously, taking on board knowledge about her opponents' weaknesses when trying to come up with strategies, (TV: *The Green Knight*, *Nothing*, *Evolution*) and ensuring steps were taken when particularly dangerous prisoners escaped captivity. (TV: *Evolution*)

She admitted to not being good at calming others down, noting to the Doctor that it could be "difficult for a person in uniform to talk like that to someone", as she believed she may not be trusted so much. (TV: *Nothing*) She could also be distrusting, particularly of those who had wronged her previously. (TV: *Evolution*) Nonetheless, when not commanding her troops, Bambera was a relatively sympathetic individual, openly feeling sorry for both Guinevere Hoult, (TV: *The Green Knight*) Norman Manning (TV: *Nothing*) and 001. (TV: *Evolution*)