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{{for|the Scottish football player of the 1970s and 1980s|John Lapsley (footballer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Sir John Hugh Lapsley
|image=
|caption=
|nickname=
|birth_date= {{birth date|1916|09|24|df=yes}}
|birth_place= India
|death_date= {{death date and age|1995|09|21|1916|09|24|df=yes}}
|death_place= [[Deben Registration District|Deben]], [[Suffolk]], England
|placeofburial=
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= [[Royal Air Force]]
|serviceyears= 1932–73
|rank= [[Air Marshal]]
|unit=
|commands= [[RAF Coastal Command|Coastal Command]] (1968–69) [[No. 19 Group RAF|No. 19 (Reconnaissance) Group]] (1967–68) [[RAF Wahn]] (1954–56) [[Air Fighting Development Squadron]] (1949–51) [[No. 74 Squadron RAF|No. 74 Squadron]] (1947–49) [[No. 125 Wing RAF|No. 125 Wing]] (1943–44) [[No. 274 Squadron RAF|No. 274 Squadron]] (1941)
|battles= [[Second World War]]
|awards= [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] [[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]] [[Mentioned in Despatches]] (2)
|relations=
|laterwork= [[Save the Children Fund]]
}}
[[Air Marshal]] '''Sir John Hugh Lapsley''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KBE|CB|DFC|AFC}} (24 September 1916 – 21 November 1995)<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KqJ2BQAAQBAJ&dq=john+lapsley+1995&pg=PR66|title=Aces High, Volume 2: A Further Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Air Forces in WWII, Volume 2|chapter=LAPSLEY. John Hugh|author=Christopher Shores
|publisher=Grub Street Publishing|year=2008|isbn=9781909808430}}</ref> was a British fighter pilot of the [[Second World War]] and, later, a senior [[Royal Air Force]] commander.

==RAF career==
Lapsely joined the Royal Air Force as an Aircraft Apprentice in 1935 later being awarded a cadetship at the [[RAF College Cranwell]].<ref name=air>[http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Lapsley.htm Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshall Lapsley]</ref> In 1937 he was appointed to a permanent commission and a posting to [[No. 32 Squadron RAF|No. 32 Squadron]].<ref name=air/> By February 1941 he was in command of [[No. 274 Squadron RAF|No. 274 Squadron]] in [[Malta]], originally with [[Gloster Gladiator]] biplane fighters which were soon replaced by the [[Hawker Hurricane]].<ref name=air/> He was shot down near Tobruk on 19 April 1941 and was repatriated back to England to recover.<ref name=air/> At first he was only fit for instructional duties but by 1943 he was in command of [[No. 125 Wing RAF|No. 125 Wing]] with the [[Hawker Typhoon]] fighter bomber.<ref name=air/>

After the war he attended the [[RAF Staff College, Bracknell]] and then became Officer Commanding [[No. 74 Squadron RAF|No. 74 Squadron]] before taking command of the Air Fighting Development Squadron in 1949 and then taking over responsibility for Flying at the Central Flying Establishment in 1951.<ref name=air/> He went on to be Station Commander at [[RAF Wahn]] in 1954, Deputy Chief of Staff at Headquarters [[Second Tactical Air Force]] in 1961 and Director of the Defence Operations Staff on formation of the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] in 1964.<ref name=air/> He became Air Officer Commanding [[No. 19 Group RAF|No. 19 (Reconnaissance) Group]] in 1967 and Air Officer Commander-in-Chief, [[RAF Coastal Command|Coastal Command]] in 1968. Whilst serving as Commander-in Chief won Coastal Commands Scratch Golf Championship in 1969.<ref name=air/> In that capacity he accepted the first [[Hawker Siddeley Nimrod|Nimrod]] aircraft into service in October 1969.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%202966.html Four-jet Sub-Hunter Handover] Flight International, 9 October 1969</ref> His last appointment was as Head of the [[British Defence Staff – US|British Defence Staff]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] in 1970 before retiring in 1973.<ref name=air/> Whilst serving as Commander-in Chief he won Coastal Command's Scratch Golf Championship in 1969.

In retirement he became Director General of the [[Save the Children Fund]].<ref>[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=2161-directorgeneral&cid=0#0 National Archives]</ref>

He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's at [[Benhall]] in Suffolk.
[[File:The grave of John Lapsley in the churchyard of St Mary's, Benhall.jpg|thumb|The grave of John Lapsley in the churchyard of St Mary's, Benhall]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box|
title=[[RAF Coastal Command|Air Officer C-in-C Coastal Command]]|
before=[[Paul Holder|Sir Paul Holder]]|
after=None|
years=1968–1969}}
|-
{{s-bef | before = [[George Lea (British Army officer)|Sir George Lea]]}}
{{s-ttl | title = {{nowrap|[[British Defence Staff – US|Head of the British Defence Staff]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]}}| years =1970–1973}}
{{s-aft | after =[[Ian Easton|Sir Ian Easton]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapsley, John}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials in Suffolk]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force air marshals]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:British World War II pilots]]
[[Category:Trenchard Brats]]
[[Category:British air attachés]]
[[Category:Military personnel of British India]]

John Lapsley - Revision history

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