29.11.1943 – 13.09.2026
Tim Lawson was the son of a Scottish school master and an English school mistress. Having initially played for English Schoolboys, Tim chose to play as a full hockey international for Scotland and made his senior debut in 1963.
At the conclusion of the Home Internationals in Nottingham that year, Hockey News wrote of Scotland’s “highly promising new forward.”
Cover of Hockey News magazine, April 1967 edition featuring Tim Lawson in action for Scotland against England.
Tim’s early love of hockey had been developed at Felsted School in Essex, notably by ex-Olympian, John Cockett. It was a strong era for Felsted hockey, which also produced fellow international players, Tony Ekins, Richard Oliver and Geoff Nott.
Tim studied Dentistry at the Royal London Hospital from 1962 to 1966, where he played both cricket and hockey, captaining the British Universities team.
He played his club hockey with Tulse Hill Hockey Club in the London League from 1966 to 1973 and played a key role in Tulse Hill’s undefeated, title-winning season of 1970/71.
With a young family and a dentistry career to now consider, Hockey News lamented: “Unhappily, there seems little prospect that Lawson will be available for the Munich [Olympic] Games.”
Tim then moved down to rural Kent, with his wife Lorna and two young children. He joined Marden Russets Hockey Club and helped the club to gain promotion the following year. He was later joined at Marden by Jeremy Barham and Keith Sinclair, his team-mates and friends from the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games.
Tim Lawson of Great Britain neatly leaps a pair of Pakistani sticks during the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
Tim represented Scotland 33 times in total, with his Scottish player legacy number being 301. He featured prominently in Home Internationals matches from 1963 to 1968 and was part of the Scotland team that became Home Nations champions in 1967, the first time that the Scots had won the tournament for 40 years.
He also played 26 times for Great Britain (GB), most notably at the Mexico Olympic Games in 1968, where he scored the first goal in the opening match against Argentina. Two years prior, Tim had been on the extensive GB Tour to Australia in 1966, and he also played six matches in seven days in the pre-Olympic Tournament in London in October 1967.
The Great Britain men’s touring team of 1966 gather at the airport ahead of their flight with Qantas to Australia.
As part of the London 2012 Olympic preparations, Tim was invited to be part of the Olympian Parade and Reunion at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. In October 2021, Tim and other members of the 1966 Australian touring party were presented with their GB honours caps at a reunion held at The Hockey Museum. Stitched into Tim’s cap is his GB player legacy number 141.
Poignant Presentations For 1966 Great Britain Squad – The Hockey Museum
Tim Lawson receives his Great Britain honours cap from Amanda Prosser, the window of Tim’s Great Britain hockey captain, David Prosser, from the tour of Australia in 1966. The presentation event was held at The Hockey Museum on 22 October 2021.
Another feature of his hockey career was his regular appearance for the Ghosts Hockey Club at the Folkestone Easter Festival.
Tim was also a keen golfer, with longstanding memberships at both Rye Golf Club and Dale Hill Golf Club. Over the years, he enjoyed many outings with the Crossticks, a golf society founded over 50 years ago for former hockey players.
Tim was widowed in May 2017 but is survived by his two sons, Tony and Jeremy. Both have been lifelong hockey players, and Jeremy still represents Scotland Masters in the Over 50s age group.
Tim Lawson, wearing his Great Britain jacket, with his four grandchildren during London 2012 Olympian Parade and Reunion event.
