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{{short description|Canadian Army officer}}
{{for|the British-American artist|John K. Lawson (artist)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = John Kelburne Lawson
| image = File:J.K. Lawson and C.M. Maltby.jpg
| caption = Brigadier John K. Lawson (right) with General [[Christopher Maltby]]
| birth_date = 27 December 1886
| death_date = {{death date and age|1941|12|19|1886|12|27|df=y}}
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial = [[Sai Wan War Cemetery]], [[Chai Wan]]
| birth_place = [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], England
| death_place = [[British Hong Kong]]
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| nickname =
| allegiance = Canada
| branch = [[Canadian Army]]
| serviceyears = 1914–1941
| rank = [[Brigadier]]
| unit =
| commands = [[C Force]]
| battles = [[World War I]]
*[[Battle of Passchendaele]]
*[[Battle of the Somme]]
[[World War II]]
*[[Battle of Hong Kong]]{{KIA}}
| awards = [[Croix de Guerre]]
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
[[File:West Brigade Headquarters nouth bunker.JPG|thumb|West Brigade Headquarters north bunker at [[Wong Nai Chong Gap]], Hong Kong]]
[[Image:Jklawson.JPG|upright|thumb|The headstone of Brigadier J. K. Lawson at [[Sai Wan War Cemetery]]]]
'''John Kelburne Lawson''' (27 December 1886 – 19 December 1941) was a Canadian military officer who served as commander of the West Brigade during the [[Battle of Hong Kong]]. A brigadier, he was the most senior officer to be killed in action during the battle, and the highest-ranking Canadian soldier killed in action in the [[Second World War]].<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Craig S.|title=A Doomed Battle for Hong Kong, With Only Medals Left 75 Years Later|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/world/canada/a-doomed-battle-for-hong-kong-with-only-medals-left-75-years-later.html|accessdate=3 January 2017|work=The New York Times|date=23 December 2022}}</ref>{{circular reporting|date=November 2021}}

== Early career ==
Lawson was born in [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], [[East Riding of Yorkshire]]. He emigrated to [[Edmonton]] in 1914 where he worked as a clerk for the [[Hudson's Bay Company]]. He enlisted in the [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]] (CEF) upon the outbreak of the [[First World War]]. He joined the [[9th Battalion, CEF]], and variously worked at the 1st Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade and at Corps Headquarters. Although he is often incorrectly attributed a [[Military Cross]] for actions at the [[Battle of Passchendaele]] or the [[Battle of the Somme]], he was twice [[mentioned in despatches]] and received the French [[Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de guerre]]. Lawson joined as a private in 1914 and rose to the rank of warrant officer first class before commissioning. He held the rank of captain at the end of the war.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadianmilitaryhistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/3-Wentzell-Lawson-at-Hong-Kong.pdf |first=Tyler |last=Wentzell |title=Brigadier J.K. Lawson and Command of 'C' Force at Hong Kong |publisher=Canadian Military History |date=April 2011 |accessdate=2 February 2022}}</ref>

Lawson joined the [[Permanent Active Militia]] during the interwar years. He held various positions in Calgary, Kingston, Toronto, and Ottawa. He completed staff college in [[Quetta]] in 1923–1924, and was posted to the [[War Office]] in London, England, in 1930.

When the Second World War broke out, he was Director of Military Training in Ottawa. He was given command of the [[Royal Rifles of Canada]], [[The Winnipeg Grenadiers]],<ref name="nyt"/> and the other Canadian support units which arrived in [[Hong Kong]] on 16 November 1941 to reinforce the British garrison ahead of the [[Battle of Hong Kong]] (8–25 December 1941).

==Battle of Hong Kong==
[[File:Lawson Memoral ph2.jpg|thumb|The plaque is dedicated to Lawson and all members of Brigade Headquarters [[C Force]].]]
After the forces defending [[Kowloon]] were withdrawn to the [[Hong Kong Island|island of Hong Kong]] on 11 December 1941, General [[Christopher Maltby]] organized the defence of the island into two brigades, west and east. Lawson was placed in charge of the west brigade,<ref name="nyt"/> which included the Winnipeg Grenadiers, the [[Royal Scots]], the [[Punjab Regiment (India)]] and the Canadian Signallers. The Japanese landed on Hong Kong Island on 18 December 1941 with the intent to split the defenders in two. After fierce fighting, Japanese forces surrounded Lawson's headquarters at around 10 a.m. on 19 December. Lawson radioed his commanders that he was "going outside to fight his way out" and left his splinter proof shelter with a small group of his officers. He was killed immediately after leaving his shelters by a burst of Japanese machine gun fire.<ref name="nyt"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwii.ca/index.php?page=Page&action=showpage&id=42 |title=The Battle of Hong Kong |publisher=Canada at War |accessdate=2 February 2022}}</ref><ref name="tga">{{cite book |last1=Churchill |first1=Winston |title=The Grand Alliance |url=https://archive.org/details/grandalliance00chur |url-access=registration |date=1950 |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/grandalliance00chur/page/633 633]}}</ref>

When the Japanese arrived and found his body, they gave him a military burial nearby in [[Wong Nai Chong Gap]] out of respect for his courage. A chaplain was allowed to remove Lawson's silver identification disc bracelet and held on to it through four years as a Japanese prisoner of war before returning it to Lawson's family in Canada. Meanwhile, Hong Kong was relieved only on 16 September 1945, more than a month after [[Surrender of Japan|the war ended]].<ref name="tnt">{{cite book |last1=Churchill |first1=Winston |title=Triumph and Tragedy |url=https://archive.org/details/triumphtragedy00chur |url-access=registration |date=1953 |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/triumphtragedy00chur/page/646 646]}}</ref>

The original headstone erected by the Japanese was removed after the war. Lawson was reburied at the [[Sai Wan War Cemetery]] after the war.<ref name="nyt"/> A memorial plate was erected by the Canadian government at the site in 2005.

==Personal life==
Lawson was married to Augusta Hawkesworth Wilson in 1930 and had two sons, Arthur John (b. 1934) and Michael Ivan (b. 1936).<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2221224 |title=Brigadier John Kelburne Lawson
|author= |date=2019-09-11 |website=veterans.gc.ca |publisher=Veterans Affairs Canada |access-date=2019-10-13 |quote=}}</ref>

His family donated his medals to the [[Royal Canadian Military Institute]].

==See also==
*[[John Robert Osborn]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|John K. Lawson}}
*[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2221224 Commonwealth War Graves Commission entry]
*[http://www.wwii.ca/index.php?page=Page&action=showpage&id=42 Canada at War:The Battle of Hong Kong]
*[https://generals.dk/general/Lawson/John_Kelburne/Canada.html Generals of World War II]
*{{Find a Grave|7532053}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, John K}}
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1941 deaths]]
[[Category:Canadian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel killed in World War II]]
[[Category:The Royal Canadian Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Kingston upon Hull]]
[[Category:English emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:History of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Battle of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Canadian Expeditionary Force officers]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)]]
[[Category:Burials at Sai Wan War Cemetery]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta]]

John K. Lawson - Revision history

Bot at 22:11, 15 July 2022