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David Hawkins (RAF officer)

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David Hawkins
David Hawkins-Leth (right) and his wife Karen, called Dede, together with a friend from the Embassy of Switzerland at the Mosimann's Club in London in 1997. The photo was taken by Anton Mosimann
Other name(s)David Hawkins-Leth
Born(1937-04-05)5 April 1937
Streatham, South London, England
Died31 January 2019(2019-01-31) (aged 81)
London, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1955–1993
RankAir vice-marshal
Service number2767499
CommandsNo. 37 Squadron RAF Regiment (1971–74)
RAF Regiment (1991–93)

Air-Vice Marshal David Richard Hawkins CB, LVO, MBE, DL (5 April 1937 – 31 January 2019),[1] also known as David Hawkins-Leth, was a senior Royal Air Force officer who commanded the Royal Air Force Regiment in the 1990s. After his RAF service, he became an usher for Black Rod and a Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Greater London.

Early life

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Hawkins was born in Streatham, South London in April 1937 and educated at Worth School and Downside.[2][1]

RAF career

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Hawkins joined the RAF in 1955 as a gunner in the RAF Regiment,[3] but was awarded a short commission in 1956,[4] with the commissioning becoming permanent in 1959.[5] His infantry training was at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, with Hawkins being the last RAF officer to undergo the training there before the RAF took on training its own Regiment officers.[1] In 1971, he was appointed as the officer commanding No. 37 Squadron RAF Regiment, then based at RAF Catterick in North Yorkshire with frequent deployments to Northern Ireland. In 1974, he was the officer commanding the Queen's Colour Squadron (QCS).[2] Whilst in command at QCS, he and his men appeared on the Generation Game with Bruce Forsyth, where they performed their drill manoeuvres for the contestants to emulate.[3] In 1977, he was awarded the Member of the British Empire.[6]

After being promoted to wing commander and then group captain, Hawkins undertook a number of staff posts at AAFCE and HQ Strike Command in High Wycombe, with other postings to RAF Catterick and one as the Director of Personal Services within the RAF HQ.[1] By 1991 and in the rank of air vice-marshal, he took on the role of the Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment.[1][2] In 1992, Hawkins was elevated to a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.[7]

In 1993, Hawkins relinquished his appointment as Commandant General of the RAF Regiment, and retired from active service, being succeeded by T G Thorn.[8]

Later career

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Following retirement from the RAF, he was appointed Director of Military and Government Affairs for WDSL Aerospace Ltd, and he took on a similar post with Coltraco Ultrasonics Ltd in 2014, as well as being a member of Safe Waste and Power consultants.[9] Hawkins was also a Gentleman Usher to the Queen (invested in 1994),[10][11] a Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod between 1993 and 1998,[12] and a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Greater London between 1994 and 2012.[13][14] As a Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod, Hawkins was known not to be one who shirked his duties; in 1995, Hawkins sent a typed letter to Sir Geoffrey Howe instructing him to cease ongoing proceedings in the House of Lords that were being filmed in relation to a debate on the single European currency. The conference was in some unspecified way breaking the rules of the house and attending film crews were warned that they would have their media passes revoked if they broadcast the footage of the event.[15]

He was elevated to a Lieutenant in the Royal Victorian Order in 2007.[16]

Personal life

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Hawkins was married three times; first to Wendy Harris (1965–1981), secondly to Elaine Nelson (1982–1997), and thirdly, in 1998, to Karen Hansen-d’Leth, a dentist who had a surgery in Harley Street. He adopted his wife's name as part of his surname to become Hawkins-Leth.[1] When his wife retired, they moved to Denmark, but in ill-health, Hawkins returned to London in the last days of his life.[13] He died on 31 January 2019.[2]

Honours

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National Honours

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Foreign Honours

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Air Vice-Marshal David Hawkins, head of the RAF Regiment who appeared on 'The Generation Game' with the Queen's Colour Squadron – obituary". The Telegraph. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Hawkins-Leth, Air Vice-Marshal David Richard". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19524. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ a b Williams, Simon, ed. (22 March 2019). "Former Regt Commandant General AVM David Hawkins". RAF News. No. 1, 463. p. 29. ISSN 0035-8614.
  4. ^ "No. 40,918". The London Gazette. 6 November 1956. pp. 6, 263.
  5. ^ "No. 41,955". The London Gazette. 12 February 1960. pp. 1, 177.
  6. ^ "No. 47,234". The London Gazette. 10 June 1977. pp. 7, 087.
  7. ^ "No. 52,592". The London Gazette. 12 June 1992. p. 3.
  8. ^ "Court Circular". The Independent. 1 April 1993. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  9. ^ Blunden, Mark (28 October 2009). "'Turn rubbish into electricity for 2 million London homes'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Court circular". The Times. 7 January 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  11. ^ "No. 53,852". The London Gazette. 18 November 1994. pp. 16, 181.
  12. ^ "House of Lords - Annual Report and Accounts 1998-99". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Life Vice President of the Trust dies". battleofbritainmemorial.org. 8 February 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  14. ^ "No. 53,692". The London Gazette. 8 June 1994. pp. 8, 341.
  15. ^ "How not to do it". infoweb.newsbank.com. 9 June 1995. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  16. ^ "No. 58,358". The London Gazette. 16 June 2007. p. B3.
  17. ^ "Air Vice-Marshal David R. Hawkins-Leth, CB, MBE, LVO, KCFO, DL, RAF passes away - Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George". 16 January 2019.
Military offices
Preceded by
G C Williams
 Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment
1991–1993 		Succeeded by
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