Gillian Fawcett was born in Devon in 1961 and first started playing bridge at school, to relieve the boredom of A level “study time”. She continued to play when she went to University in London, playing most nights at the Young Chelsea and benefitting from games with some of the best players around at the time.
She first represented England in the Lady Milne about 20 years ago, playing with Kay Preddy, and they represented Great Britain in the Common Market Championships around the same time. She has subsequently played a few more times in the Lady Milne, with Anne Rosen.
Gillian is married to Joe Fawcett and they have 2 children, Sephi and Xavier. Gillian’s favourite partner is her husband, himself a frequent member of the England team at one time. They played together regularly in the 90s, but Joe now plays only occasionally.
After living in London for 25 years, Gillian and her family moved to Exeter in 2003 and she gave up playing bridge for a few years while the children were young. However, she then discovered the wonderful Exeter Bridge Club, which she thinks is the friendliest place to play - she particularly appreciates the members who have sportingly played her system to help her practice! An outing to the European Open in San Remo in 2009 reignited her interest in serious competition, and when the opportunity came to play with Jane Moore in the England ladies trials in 2010 she couldn’t resist.
She has since played in the Lady Milne Trophy on five further occasions, making ten in total. She will make her first appearance in the European Team Championships in 2018.
Gillian was a member of the EBU Selection Committee in 2014-2021, and was chair of the committee 2015-2021. She was a member of the EBU's Board of Directors 2018-2021 and Vice-Chair 2020-2021.
Last updated: December 2021
Major International Appearances
European Championships: 2018
Venice Cup: 2019 and 2022
Lady Milne Trophy selections: 1989 1998 1999 2000 2003 2010 2012 2013 2014 and 2015
Silver Award 2023