A Plumpton sailor has left the Royal Navy after 39 years of service.
Gary Lawson, 55, was responsible for managing engineering support for ships based in and visiting the Clyde Naval Base prior to his discharge from the Royal Navy.
The son of Gerard Lawson and the late Pauline Lawson, of Penrith, Gary left the Royal Navy last week and now intends to become a part-time odd job man.
Brought up in Penrith, he attended the Boys National School and town’s Ullswater High School before joining the Royal Navy on 1st August, 1983, as a junior marine engineering mechanic, aged 16.
Gary quickly rose through the ranks and in 2008 was promoted to the position of warrant officer one marine engineer (WO1) — the highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Navy.
A keen rugby player, Gary played all over the world before a back injury resulted in his retirement from the game in 2003.
After qualifying as a Royal Navy ship’s diver in 1987, he spent the next 15 years conducting military diving operations alongside his primary role as marine engineer.
He served on a number of ships including HMS Liverpool, HMS York, HMS Cottesmore, HMS Lancaster, HMS Richmond, HMS Intrepid, HMS Grafton and HMS Bulwark. On HMS Bulwark, he was chief shipwright while the ship was under construction in BAE shipyard Barrow-in-Furness. After two years working on the build process he became part of the ship’s first Royal Navy crew for a further three years which included an operational deployment to the Middle East in 2006 which included the emergency evacuation of British civilian personnel from Beirut.
His career took him all over world, with the highlight being a visit to China in 1986, when, while serving on HMS York, it acted as the escort vessel to the Royal Yacht Britannia while the Queen was on an official state visit. He also served on deployments with the Falkland Islands Guard Ship and West Indies Guard Ship.
During his multiple deployments to the Middle East, he was awarded the General Service Medal Gulf, Air Ops Iraq, and Iraq medals. While serving on HMS Grafton he was also awarded the NATO Medal Kosovo.
Gary was awarded the Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct medal with two bars to indicate over 35 years of exemplary service. He also holds Queen Elizabeth ll Golden, Diamond and Platinum jubilee medals.
Following promotion to WO1, Gary had various roles including that of engineering workforce manager responsible for managing the employment of almost 200 shore-based naval engineers.
He was also involved in fleet operational sea training on minor patrol vessels and as the staff damage control officer led a team of fellow engineers conducting inspections on various warships all over the world.
The team also planned and delivered training to ensure the ship’s crew could safely operate their ship in both peacetime and wartime.
Over the course of his career, he was awarded a number of Royal Navy commendations, including one for his efforts as a marine engineering officer embedded into BAE shipyard in Scotstoun, Glasgow, during the delivery of five new ships for his “contribution to the development, introduction into service of these ships and training of the crews”.
Gary is married to Jayne and has two daughters, Chloe and Harriet.
