Walter Dawson (RAF officer)
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.
Sir Walter Lloyd Dawson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 May 1902 |
| Died | 10 June 1994 (aged 92) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1919–60 |
| Rank | Air chief marshal |
| Commands held | 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 |
RAF career edit
Dawson joined the Royal Air Force as a boy mechanic in 1919.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1] After the war he was made Air Officer Commanding AHQ Levant at a difficult time when the State of Israel was being established.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1]
He died on 10 June 1994.[2] Dawson's Field in Jordan, where the Dawson's Field hijackings took place, is named after him.[1]