Richard Lawson (British Army officer)

General Sir Richard George Lawson KCB DSO OBE KCSS (24 November 1927 – 9 May 2023) was a British Army officer. He served as General Officer Commanding in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, serving from 1979 to 1982, and later as Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Northern Europe from 1982 to 1986.

Sir Richard Lawson
Born(1927-11-24)24 November 1927
Hertfordshire, England
Died9 May 2023(2023-05-09) (aged 95)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1948–1986
RankGeneral
Service number393195
UnitRoyal Tank Regiment
Commands held20th Armoured Brigade
1st Armoured Division
GOC Northern Ireland
C-in-C Allied Forces Northern Europe
Battles/warsONUC
Aden Emergency
Operation Banner
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Knight Commander of the Order of St. Sylvester
Officer of the Order of the Crown of Belgium

Early career

Lawson was commissioned into the Royal Tank Regiment as a second lieutenant on 15 July 1948, after leaving the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst,[1] and promoted to lieutenant on 15 July 1950.[2]

Congo and Yemen

Lawson was promoted to major on 16 July 1961.[3] In December 1961, he volunteered for service with the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Republic of the Congo. At the time he was attached to the Nigerian Army, on secondment from the 1st Royal Tank Regiment. He served in South Kasai and then Katanga, where he became briefly famous for his part in the rescue of several groups of missionaries, and was nicknamed "Dick the Lionheart" by the Daily Express.[4]

In 1963 he published a book recounting his time in the Congo, entitled Strange Soldiering: Major Lawson's own dramatic story of his experiences with the third Nigerian brigade.[5][6] For his actions he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 30 March 1962, and the Nigerian officer, Major Conrad Nwawo, 1st Battalion, The Queen's Own Nigeria Regiment, who accompanied Lawson was awarded the Military Cross,[7] Lawson was also appointed an Officer of the Order of the Crown of Belgium,[8] and a Knight Commander of the Papal Order of St. Sylvester.[9][10]

From March to November 1967, Lawson undertook another secondment in a British colony on the verge of independence, the Federation of South Arabia (now part of Yemen), acting as GSO1 to the British forces stationed there, training local officers in staff duties, and overseeing the transition to local forces controlling security in Aden; for this he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 8 June 1968, in the Queen's Birthday Honours.[11][12] During this period he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 30 June 1967.[13] He was promoted to colonel on 6 July 1971[14] and brigadier on 31 December 1971.[15]

Promotion to general officer

From 1972 to 1973, he commanded 20th Armoured Brigade.[16] On 7 November 1977 he took command of 1st Armoured Division with the acting rank of major-general,[17] and received substantive promotion on 30 June 1978 (with seniority from 1 April 1976).[18] On 3 November 1979, he ceased to command 1st Division.[19]

Lawson succeeded Timothy Creasey as GOC Northern Ireland on 1 December 1979, and was promoted to lieutenant-general after his appointment.[20][21] He was himself succeeded by Robert Richardson on 1 June 1982.[22][23] In the 1980 New Year Honours he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB),[24] and on 1 January 1980 he was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Tank Regiment, a post he held until 1 June 1982.[25][26]

Lawson was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Northern Europe, a NATO post, on 15 November 1982,[27] replacing Anthony Farrar-Hockley, and was promoted to general on his appointment.[28] He was succeeded by Geoffrey Howlett on 10 February 1986.[27][29] He retired from the army on 28 May 1986.[30]

Death

Lawson died on 9 May 2023, at the age of 95.[31]

References
  1. "No. 38383". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 August 1948. p. 4622.
  2. "No. 38967". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 July 1950. p. 3611.
  3. "No. 42410". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 July 1961. p. 5165.
  4. "Dick the Lionheart", Time Magazine, 16 February 1962; Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  5. Review on trademe.co.nz. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  6. Strange Soldiering: Major Lawson's own dramatic story of his experiences with the third Nigerian brigade. London: Hodder & Stoughton. 1963. OCLC 185879600.
  7. "No. 42635". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 March 1962. p. 2593.
  8. "No. 42821". The London Gazette. 30 October 1962. p. 8463.
  9. "No. 43320". The London Gazette. 12 May 1964. p. 4113.
  10. Association of Papal Orders in Great Britain Archived 6 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "No. 44600". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1968. p. 6304.
  12. Recommendations for Honours and Awards (Army)—Image details—Documents Online, The National Archives (fee may be required to view full pdf of original recommendation). Retrieved 7 September 2008.
  13. "No. 44357". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 June 1967. p. 7383.
  14. "No. 45417". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 July 1971. p. 7203.
  15. "No. 45564". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 January 1972. p. 87.
  16. 20th Armoured Brigade - Brigade Commander
  17. "No. 47390". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 November 1977. p. 14929.
  18. "No. 47588". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 July 1978. p. 8324.
  19. "No. 48015". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 November 1979. p. 14929.
  20. Bew, Paul; Gordon Gillespie (1993). Northern Ireland: A Chronology of the Troubles, 1968-1993. Gill & Macmillan. p. 136. ISBN 0-7171-2081-3.
  21. A Chronology of the Conflict - 1979, CAIN website. Note that the London Gazette announced the handover effective 8 January 1980: "No. 48100". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 February 1980. p. 2625.
  22. Chronology of the Conflict 1982, CAIN
  23. "No. 49002". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1982. p. 7562.
  24. "No. 48041". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1979. p. 2.
  25. "No. 48080". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 January 1980. p. 1441.
  26. "No. 49028". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 June 1982. p. 8222.
  27. North Atlantic Treaty Organization. "Senior officials in the NATO military structure, from 1949 to 2001" (PDF).
  28. "No. 49180". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 November 1982. p. 15621.
  29. "No. 50440". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 February 1986. p. 2711.
  30. "No. 50535". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1986. p. 7419.
  31. "General Sir Richard Lawson obituary". The Times. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
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