Sir Walter Dawson | |
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Dawson in 1950 | |
Born | (1902-05-06)6 May 1902 |
Died | 10 June 1994(1994-06-10) (aged 92) |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service | Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1919–60 |
Rank | Air chief marshal |
Commands | Air Member for Supply and Organisation (1958–60) Inspector-General of the RAF (1956–57) School of Land/Air Warfare (1948–49) AHQ Levant (1946–48) RAF St Eval (1942–43) |
Battles / wars | World War II |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order |
Air chief marshal Sir Walter Lloyd Dawson, KCB, CBE, DSO (6 May 1902 – 10 June 1994) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the 1950s. He was the last RAF commander in Palestine, before the creation of the State of Israel.
RAF career
Dawson joined the Royal Air Force as a boy mechanic in 1919. He served in the Second World War on the air staff at RAF Middle East and then in the Directorate of Plans at the Air Ministry. He continued his war service as Station Commander at RAF St Eval from 1942, Director of Operations (Naval Co-operation) from 1943 and Director of Plans from 1944. After the war he was made Air Officer Commanding AHQ Levant at a difficult time when the State of Israel was being established. He was appointed Commandant of the School of Land/Air Warfare in 1948 and then served as Senior RAF Instructor at the Imperial Defence College from 1950 before becoming Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Policy) in 1952. He went on to be Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans & Policy at Headquarters Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in 1953, Inspector-General of the RAF in 1956 and Air Member for Supply and Organisation in 1958 before he retired in 1960.
He died on 10 June 1994. Dawson's Field in Jordan, where the Dawson's Field hijackings took place, is named after him.
References
- ^ Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Walter Dawson
- National Portrait Gallery
Military offices | ||
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Preceded byHector McGregor | Air Officer Commanding Air Headquarters Levant 1946–1948 |
VacantTitle next held byClayton Boyce In 1955, headquartered in Iraq |
Preceded bySir Leslie Brown | Commandant of the School of Land/Air Warfare 1948–1949 |
Succeeded byLawrence Pendred |
Preceded byRonald Ivelaw-Chapman | Senior RAF Instructor at the Imperial Defence College 1950–1951 |
Succeeded byClaude Pelly |
Preceded bySir Charles Guest | Inspector-General of the RAF 1956–1957 |
Succeeded bySir Gilbert Nicholetts |
Preceded bySir Donald Hardman | Air Member for Supply and Organisation 1958–1960 |
Succeeded bySir Walter Merton |
This biographical article related to the Royal Air Force is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
- 1902 births
- 1994 deaths
- Academics of the Royal College of Defence Studies
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell
- Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
- Royal Air Force air marshals
- Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
- Royal Air Force personnel stubs