It seems to have passed in the blink of an eye – and it has been only 15 months – but it’s time to give a warm Yorkshire welcome our new Station Commander. Group Captain John ‘Geordie’ Lawson takes over from Paul Hamilton, who is moving on promotion to the post of Commander Global Enablement.
RAF Leeming’s sword – and the reins of RAF Leeming – were officially handed over at a ceremony attended by Station personnel, dignitaries and the Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Johanna Ropner. Group Captain Hamilton said: “I really believe that Leeming is the stronghold of the North of England. It is so important, not just to the Royal Air Force, but to the defense of the United Kingdom. I’m leaving slightly prematurely, so today is genuinely an emotional day for me.
“It has been an incredibly busy period with people doing some incredible work on welfare. At the same time £137 million has been invested in the Station with a whole new runway. We’ve hosted major exercises and visits – the visit in September of Her Majesty the Queen was one of the highlights of my time here. I was proud of the way the station pulled together to make that happen. It was just fantastic andI was very, very proud, particularly on that date. I wish Geordie all the best – I think the Station is going into good hands.”
With a background in multi-engine aircraft, Group Captain Lawson has supported Air Capability Development and served as Officer Commanding Operations Wing at RAF Brize Norton. He arrives at Leeming from a role as Chief of Staff to Director People (RAF) and, as the name Geordie would suggest, is back on the old stomping ground of his former University Air Squadron. He said: “It is a true honour for me to be appointed as Station Commander for RAF Leeming and I will be part of the journey to help the station move forward.
“Throughout this handover week, I've felt an energy and a positive vibe to this place. I recognise that my time is custodian of this incredible station is going to be extremely short, and it's not about Johnny. This is about RAF Leeming and Defence of the United Kingdom from the north of England. We have to have people who are motivated, live well and have a positive lived experience, and that lived experience has to be true for everybody."
