In loving memory of

NEIL JOHN MACNAIRLAWSON

6th November 1937 - 16th April 2020

Fenland CrematoriumThursday 21st May 2020 at 2.30 pm

Order of Service

Welcome & Service Lead ByChris Hill

Opening Music'Memories of you' by Benny Goodman Quartet

Hymn - how great thou art

Bible Reading John 14:1-7

by Emily ViterboAppreciation

Address

Hymn - The Lord's My Sheperd

Prayers & The Lords Prayer

Commendation & Farewell

Committal

Blessing

Leaving Music'After you've gone' by Benny Goodman Quintet

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Hymn

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonderConsider all the worlds Thy hands have made

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunderThy power throughout the universe displayed

[Chorus]Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou artThen sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wanderAnd hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees

When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeurAnd see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze

[Chorus]

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparingSent Him to die, I scarce can take it in

That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearingHe bled and died to take away my sin

[Chorus]

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamationAnd take me home, what joy shall fill my heart

Then I shall bow, in humble adorationAnd then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

[Chorus]

How Great Thou Art

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Jesus said… ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Youbelieve in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house

has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have toldyou that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you,I will come back and take you to be with me that you

also may be where I am. You know the way to the placewhere I am going.’

Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where youare going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus

answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. Noone comes to the Father except through me. If you really

know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. Fromnow on, you do know him and have seen him.’

Bible ReadingJohn 14:1-7

The Lord's Prayer

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Our Father, who art in heaven,hallowed be Thy name.

Thy Kingdom come,Thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our trespasses,As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the Kingdom,the power and the glory.

For ever and ever. Amen

The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want; He makes me lie in pastures green.

He leads me by the still, still waters, His goodness restores my soul.

[Chorus]And I will trust in You alone, And I will trust in You alone,

For Your endless mercy follows me, Your goodness will lead me home.

He guides my ways in righteousness, And He anoints my head with oil, And my cup, it overflows with joy,

I feast on His pure delights.

[Chorus]

And though I walk the darkest path, I will not fear the evil one,

For You are with me, and Your rod and staffAre the comfort I need to know.

[Chorus]

Hymn

The Lord's My Sheperd

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Our Family Tribute to John

Neil John Macnair Lawson k/a John, was born on 6 November 1937in Edmonton, London to Edith Florence Lawson a Nursing Sister

and Neil Bosineus Lawson, Deputy Manager of the Anglo - IranianOil Company in Aden. The family remained in Aden throughoutthe war. On 18 November 1946 John's brother Stewart was born.

Shortly after this John was enrolled at a public school in Scotland. He spent holiday periods with paternal aunts in Scotland and with

maternal aunts and grandmother in Southampton. Thecombination of boarding school and times with elderly relatives

caused difficulties for John and indications are that this was not ahappy period of his life.

However, there were happier events during this time duringschool holidays in Southampton where his ability in cricket was

recognised and he received cricket coaching at the County Ground.His love and dedication to the game continued throughout his life.

John's parents and Stewart returned to England when their fatherretired. John continued his education in Scotland and upon

completion joined the R.A.F. He did electrical engineering andlater worked as a T.V. Engineer in Watford.

John's long career in the CivilService, at least 25 yrs,culminated in 1993 in receivingan Imperial Service Medal inrecognition of his MeritoriousServices.

John's life in retirement revolvedround many and varied interests. He was an accomplished jazzpianist, he enjoyed travel andmeeting friends at his localhostelry's in Mitcham andLymington where he was wellknown and very popular. Cricketand golf remained his favouritepastimes. He excelled at both andencouraged others to do thesame.

In January 1964 John started his career with the Civil Service ,undertaking training as a radio operator at Bletchley Park. In thelate 1960's John was posted to Hong Kong where he played for the1st division cricket club Little Sai Wan.His name was mentioned anumber of times in ex pats newspapers there. He sent newspapercuttings to his father. One entitled 'Sai Wan win in the day 'reported that "the man chiefly instrumental for yesterday's turn ofevents was John Lawson. Dropped five times before he had reacheddouble figures.... Lawson went on to punish this Templars attack,cracking 73 beautiful runs with a superb exhibition of legside play"

John was delighted when his brother and sister in law took up golfin their retirement. He gave them lots of tips and videos to

improve their play. He was very patient and hid anydisappointment at their lack of progress !

John was loved by many people and seen as a real gentleman, acolourful character, a kind and caring neighbour, a loyal and

trustworthy friend with only good words to say about anyone.Friends and family alike have many stories that make us all smile

about his "somewhat disorganised and chaotic lifestyle ".Gatherings that required organisation, punctuality and travelling

by John did not always go to plan and times for serving mealsoften needed last minute delays.

The last few years of John's life sadly was marred by a decline inhis health. Alzheimer's Disease and physical mobility problems

affected his wellbeing and safety at home. The remaining 15months of his life was spent at Fieldway Care Home in Mitcham.

He knew the names of many fellow residents and showedkindness to them, encouraging them and having a joke. During

weekly family visits, despite feeling frustrated that he could notcome and go as he liked, John always spoke well of the care he was

receiving . Likewise staff spoke of John with warmth andaffection.He especially enjoyed telephone calls from his friendsand outings to the pub when longstanding friends took him out

for a curry.

Family and friends visits came to a sudden end when protectivemeasures relating to covid -19 were put in place by Fieldway andbefore Government rules required this to be done. This action wasreassuring and the reasons understood. Care staff organised Skypecalls and John enjoyed these. On the screen he looked cheerful andin good health. Sadly in a matter of a few days there was a sudden

deterioration and John was admitted to St. George's Hospital ,Tooting. Shortly afterwards his niece Louise was contacted in the

middle of the night and invited to visit John. It is a great comfort tohis family that Louise was able to be by his bedside. After being

told by the nursing staff that John could hear her, she spoke wordsof reassurance and Psalm 23. John passed away the following

morning on 16 April at 6.00am.

We give thanks for John's life , for all he meant to his family ,friends and for those he came in contact with and for the part he

played in their lives .

We will all miss him greatly.

'A special family outing occurred every year in theschool summer holiday. My parents and I joined my

cousin John and Nanny Alderman for a day trip on thetrain to Winchester. I remember a really happy day

when we had afternoon tea at 'Dumpers' a cafe inWinchester . John's Aunt Rose and Aunt Molly hadgiven my parents instructions "to make sure he ate

bread and butter " but John ate 7 cakes!

From Cousin Anne Alderman, Wales

It is such a shame that Alex is not with us as I feel sure he wouldhave come up with some fond and funny golfing capers as they

were both members of the same golf society - the HendonHome Guard. Sounds a bit like Dad’s Army doesn’t it?!

On these occasions John would usually stay with us inIckenham, and he and Alex took turns of driving to the various

venues. Inevitably John would forget to take some vital itemwith him, and I would be contacted to deliver said items to theclubhouse asap eg his tie, his golf shoes and even his shirt and

jacket on one occasion! Although this could be a trifleannoying, over time it became a bit of a family joke and a rather

endearing trait.

John was a very easy guest to have. He enjoyed whatever wasput in front of him and loved a good old pot of tea accompaniedby some shortbread. He took an amazing number of spoonfuls

of sugar in his tea until he was diagnosed with Diabetes and hadto change his ways. The evening always finished with a

tankard or two of beer.

At Christmas time while en route to stay with Stewart andAnthea at Dunton he would drop in to exchange Season’s

Greetings, and to present us with a bottle of Port. Generous tothe end. Greatly missed, but never forgotten.

RIP John. - Cousin Alison Lawson, Scotland

' I remember Aunt Chris taking my cousin John and I on a trip by steamer and train from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay on Bute.

We had a very good time visiting the castle and having ice cream afterwards.'

From Cousin Richard Lawson, Dunoon

John, international man of mystery, was awarded an Imperial Service Medal by the Queen! We never knew he had recieved this.

A Tribute from Lymington Cricket Club

As many of you will have probably read, one of our former players and umpires - John Lawson - sadly died recently. Here is

our tribute to John...

John Lawson came into the world with a bang on November 5th1937. He spent much of his early life on the move and lived for atime in the Middle East where his father held a senior position

with a large British company. As a result John learnt smatteringsof Arabic from the local children he played with. He was also

educated at public school in Scotland before the family eventuallymoved down to Southampton. Being mad keen on cricket, John

went along to the County Ground for coaching with Arthur Holtduring the school holidays. John became one of the band of

youngsters known as 'Holt's Colts' and later played some games forDeanery who were based at Northlands Road and were arguablythe strongest club side in Hampshire at the time. John was also

invited to play for teams such as Major Dupree’s XI and the ForestWagtails, and during one such match at the County Ground, muchto John’s eternal annoyance, he was run out by his fellow batsman

when he looked set for a large score, the guilty batsman at theother end was none other than Charles Fry, future Hampshirecaptain, future MCC President, and grandson of the legendary

England cricketer C.B. Fry.

In 1975 the Lymington captain Chis Allen invited John to comedown to join him at Lymington. John soon proved himself at theSports Ground as an excellent batsman, occasional bowler andpart-time wicketkeeper, as well as a brilliant gully fielder. He

could best be described as a classical batsman, straight out of theMCC coaching book - a beautiful cover driver (think Graveney,Cowdrey or May). He utterly disapproved of one-day ‘slogging’

cricket which he described as 'ugly'. In his first season atLymington John scored 577 runs at an average of 32.6, including 85

not out against Southgate.

The following year he totalled 854 runs in all cricket at 29.4. Hecontinued to notch up well-compiled half centuries here and there

throughout his playing days

During his working life John had held a very important andresponsible role within the civil service which commanded thediscipline required for matters of national importance. Despite

this, it would be fair to say that John lived a somewhatdisorganised and chaotic lifestyle. On one occasion John returnedfrom a two week holiday to be greeted by a senior who asked him

what he was doing at his desk. John naturally pointed out that he’djust returned from his holiday. "But your holiday starts today!"

replied the senior. A more recent example of John’sdisorganisation was the time he and his friends celebrated his 80th

birthday in the Red Lion at Boldre, only for everyone - Johnincluded - to discover that he was in fact only 79!

John took all his interests seriously, whether they be cricket, golf,music or fishing. His great buddies Jack Barrett, Brian Hobby and

Bill Craft regularly took him up to Scotland for a spot offly-fishing, so he bought videos to teach himself the techniques ofcasting. John loved music, particularly jazz, on which he was quitean authority. He played the piano and loved the pubs and hotels on

cricket tours, particularly on the Isle of Wight at Sheila andHenry’s where he could bang out a few standards, the notes not

always necessarily in the right order. On one memorable occasionat the Elsinore Hotel John met his match in the form of anotherguest who fancied himself as a vocalist. As John began to play a

number the stranger started singing something completelydifferent. They both stopped and agreed they weren’t quite on the

same wavelength and then struck up again, going their separateways for a second time. The room was reduced to hysteria and

when it was over they both smiled and took the applause as if itwas for them alone.

When John finally hung up his cricket boots he became an umpireand travelled the length and breadth of Hampshire with

Lymington’s Second and Third XIs. He was a very fair umpire whohated cheating and unsportsmanlike behaviour. He loved teachingyoungsters about the art of batting and one of his aspirations was

to write a coaching manual on the subject. On one occasion he gavea novice batsman a net session at the Sports Ground,

demonstrating to him the correct grip, stance and backswing.However, John became rather frustrated at the youngster’s

inability to hit the ball. A good twenty minutes passed before thelad plucked up the courage to tell John that he was left handed. Inrecent times John became more of a spectator and was a regularsight at the Sports Ground every Saturday during the summer

months, closely following the club's fortunes, sharing a pint withhis mates, and offering advice on batting to anyone who wanted to

listen, and a few who didn’t.

For all but the very oldest members of Lymington Cricket ClubJohn Lawson has been a continuing presence throughout our time

with the club and we were all terribly sad to hear the news thathe’d passed away at the age of 82 (or was it 83?). The Sports Ground

won’t be quite the same place without John around. To concludethis tribute here are the words of three of John’s former Lymington

friends and teammates:

Chris James: “John was a splendid character, and rather a one-offin his own way.”�

John Stanley: “John was a much-loved, easy-going man who madefriends, and no enemies, wherever he went. He never had a badword for anyone. How many of us can say that? He was a good

golfer – and pretty obsessive about the techniques (yes, videos andall) - but I don’t think he ever replaced the camaraderie of cricket,

all day on the field and all-night in the bar, or restaurant. Ornightclub. And he had his moments on the dance-floor.

All 6ft 4” of him. We'll miss him.”

Brian Hobby: “A wonderful and trustworthy friend, John will besadly missed, but joyfully remembered.”

John was lovely company and such a mild mannered gentleman.He had a polite way of arguing his case even on subjects that he feltpassionately about. I do however quite fondly remember someone

objecting to his driviing one evening in London and shouting athim as we passed in his Mini estate - John pulled over and calmly

got out. The bloke didn't expect someone that tall to emerge from aMini and disappeared instantly.

The last two times that I saw John were at my dad's funeral, andlast year when I am so glad that I visited him at his care home. I

fully intended to visit again before Christmas but the footballmatch that I had planned to twin my visit to John with was

cancelled at quite short notice, and had not been rearranged beforethe coronavirus disrupted our lives so dramatically.

Although my last meeting with John found him not at hishappiest, his tolerance of the restrictions placed upon him in the

care home was so typical of his lovely temperament. The staffseemed genuinely fond of him and I left there reassured.

I prefer to remember John as the perfect host, on visits to ourfamily (where he was always interested to know about everyone's

news, children's progress etc), or when lucky enough to share atrip with him to the cricket at Lords where he was probably at his

happiest.

Please accept our condolences and pass them on to your childrenand family.

John will always remain in our thoughts.

A Tribute From Laurence and Julie Good

Eileen no. 15 (upstairs and next to John)

John was a true gentleman and goodneighbour. I often met him eitherpacking his golf clubs into his car or on his way into Morden.

He will be missed. May he rest in peace.

Eileen

John has always been there, upstairs next door, when we lived atno. 5, then just across the road when we moved to no. 6.

He was always ready to lend a hand when something technicalneeded to be repaired. He feed my cats and walked the dog whenwe were out for the day, or away. He knew where to come,anytime, for a brew and a chat.

That became more frequent in his later years when he neededclarification or advise about something, or just wanted to see afriendly face and have a cup or two of tea.

He was a good friend and neighbour and will be greatly missed.

Linda Johnson

A Tribute From John's Neighbours

John was such a perfect gentleman. It was a pleasure to have himas a resident at Fieldway. He was extremely polite and caring

towards other residents and staff and he looked out for them. Hehad a real fondness for our cats, especially the one that oftenstayed in his room and slept on his case. He enjoyed his owncompany but was happy to come to the lounge to partake in

activities and for a chat. I was surprised that he enjoyed a jazz CDof Rod Stewart one afternoon. He was sitting with all the ladiesand gentleman and singing along to the songs. Everyone really

enjoyed that day as we were doing water painting in the morningand the music was our afternoon activity.

We send our condolences and wish you well for the funeral.

Take care.

All the staff at Fieldway

A Tribute from Fieldway Care Home

Thank YouThe family would like to thank you for your love and support at

this time, and warmly invite you to visit John’s Tribute Page.

https://neil-j-lawson.muchloved.com/

If you would like to give something in John's memory, you can dothis via the above link and we as his family ask for donations to the

Alzheimer's Society please. Any gifts will help fund research andprovide vital resources for people living with dementia.

We have also included future plans for when we can all meettogether to remember and celebrate John’s life. For now, our love

and sincere thanks to you all.