Lawson was born in 1912 and grew up in Hampstead Garden suburb. He attended  Hendon County Grammar School, he didn’t get his matriculation and seems to have not been that interested in school. Dad was a director of publicity at Universal Films. Friend of the family was Maurice Elvey, the director and producer from 1917-1950s. He got Lawson his first job at G-B Shepherds Bush (GBPC) in 1928 through a Production Manager. Started as number loader (like clapper boy?) then got camera assistant work. And then some camera operator work, but still on low pay so moved to Stolls, Cricklewood studio in 1932 for £3 per week [WA note: which was a living wage in 1930s] he got the job through the DOP; Desmond Dickinson when he had been ‘loaned out’ by GBPC. Then went to Ealing in 1932 or 1933, unclear how? Where he later got the sack for trying to organise workers into ACT in 1935-6? After that he says “I found when I tried to get a job I met a brick wall” he suggests he was blacklisted in main studios. Then got a job through former colleague and ACT member in early TV work in 1936 – is this for Baird Television? At some point after 1935 at Baird TV he switched union membership from ETU from ACT. Lawson turned down a job at BBC in 1937 as he was not allowed to negotiate wages which he had done in the film industry in the 1930s. Lawson was a persistent trade union and political activist. He joined an ACT organised film unit with Thorold Dickinson to Spanish civil war [or was this The Progressive Film Unit organised by Ivor Montagu?] Lawson was very active in the ACT and obtained freelance employment as a camera operator for the producer Widgey Newman where he was undercover for the union to test he paid employees – which he did. Thorold Dickinson gave him work on Arsenal Murder Mystery (1939) at Denham – says conditions were poor here, the Production Manager often tried to get around studio agreements over hours and Lawson got into a dispute with management. When the war started he worked as an ambulance driver for the London Ambulance Service [ WA note: this was often where pacifists went in WW2, but not clear if Lawson was one. He was not afraid to film in actual battles, so his non-involvement in army suggests it was a political conviction? ] but he got the sack after trying to organise workers into TGWU – he was asked by George Elvin (ACT ) to help start the Army Film Unit due to his experience in the Spanish Civil War. Helped train recruits and filmed in Desert Victory (1943) and Burma Victory ? Worked for BBC from 1946, a friend from the Army Film Unit got him a job there? He worked there until circa 1972 – Worked on docs with Norman Shallow and TV feature films with Rudy Cartier as a DOP on things like Tis Midnight Dr Schweitzer. Tried to organise ACT at BBC but was blocked by management. Took him 15 years to get ‘established’, meaning on permanent staff at BBC, says this was because of his union organising and filming during Spanish civil war.