General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Sir Richard George Lawson KCSS (born 24 November 1927) is a former British Army officer, who served as General Officer Commanding in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

during

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

, and later as Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Northern Europe.

Early career

He was commissioned into the Royal Tank Regiment as a second lieutenant on 15 July 1948, after leaving the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 15 July 1950.

Congo and Yemen

Lawson was promoted to major on 16 July 1961. In December 1961, he volunteered for service with the

United Nations peacekeeping force Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished ...

in the Republic of the Congo. At the time he was attached to the

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

, on secondment from the 1st Royal Tank Regiment. He served in

South Kasai South Kasai (french: Sud-Kasaï) was an unrecognised secessionist state within the Republic of the Congo (the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) which was semi-independent between 1960 and 1962. Initially proposed as only a province, ...

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''. 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''. For his actions he was appointed a Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) on 30 March 1962, and the Nigerian officer, Majo
Conrad Nwawo
1st Battalion, The

Queen's Own Nigeria Regiment The Nigeria Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force, was formed by the amalgamation of the Northern Nigeria Regiment and the Southern Nigeria Regiment on 1 January 1914. At that time, the regiment consisted of five battalions: *1st Batta ...

, who accompanied Lawson was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

, Lawson was also appointed an Officer of the Order of the Crown of Belgium, and a Knight Commander of the Papal

Order of St. Sylvester Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr ( la, Ordo Sancti Silvestri Papae, it, Ordine di San Silvestro Papa), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five o ...

. From March to November 1967 Lawson undertook another secondment in a British colony on the verge of independence, the

Federation of South Arabia The Federation of South Arabia ( ar, اتحاد الجنوب العربي ') was a federal state under British protection in what would become South Yemen. Its capital was Aden. It was formed on 4 April 1962 from the 15 protected states of ...

(now part of

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

), 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. During this period he was promoted

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 30 June 1967. He was promoted

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

on 6 July 1971 and

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

on 31 December 1971.

Promotion to general officer

From 1972 to 1973 he commanded 20th Armoured Brigade. On 7 November 1977 he took command of 1st Armoured Division with the acting rank of

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, and received substantive promotion on 30 June 1978 (with seniority from 1 April 1976). On 3 November 1979, he ceased to command 1st Division. He succeeded

Timothy Creasey General Sir Timothy May Creasey (21 September 1923 – 5 October 1986) was a British Army officer who became General Officer Commanding of the British Army in Northern Ireland, as well as the commander of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces. R ...

as GOC Northern Ireland on 1 December 1979, and was promoted to lieutenant-general after his appointment. He was himself succeeded by Robert Richardson on 1 June 1982.Chronology of the Conflict 1982
CAIN In the 1980

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

he was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

(KCB), and on 1 January 1980 he was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Tank Regiment, a post he held until 1 June 1982. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Northern Europe, a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

post, on 15 November 1982, replacing

Anthony Farrar-Hockley General Sir Anthony Heritage Farrar-Hockley (8 April 1924 – 11 March 2006), nicknamed Farrar the Para, was a British Army officer and a military historian who fought in a number of British conflicts. He held a number of senior commands, ...

, and was promoted to

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

on his appointment. He was succeeded by

Geoffrey Howlett General Sir Geoffrey Hugh Whitby Howlett, (5 February 1930 – 21 April 2022) was a senior British Army officer who was Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Northern Europe. Military career Educated at Wellington College and at the Royal Mili ...

on 10 February 1986. He retired from the army on 28 May 1986.

References

External links

Portrait
by Robin Paine, 1985. , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Richard 1927 births Living people British Army generals Royal Tank Regiment officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British military personnel of the Aden Emergency Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester