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{{Short description|Scottish Historic Figure}}
{{inuse}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2017}}
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Sir '''John Charles Watson''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE|KC}} (9 July 1883 – 8 February 1944) was a [[Scottish people|Sottish]] [[advocate]] and [[sheriff principal|sheriff]]. He served from 1929 to 1931 as as [[Solicitor General for Scotland]] in Ramsay MacDonald's [[Second MacDonald ministry|second Labour Government]].
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
⚫
'''Sir John Charles Watson''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE|KC}} (9 July 1883 – 8 February 1944) was an advocate and [[sheriff principal|sheriff]] from [[Scotland]]. He served from 1929 to 1931 as [[Solicitor General for Scotland]] in Ramsay MacDonald's [[Second MacDonald ministry|second Labour Government]].


A long-standing activist in the [[Scottish Liberal Party]], his political ambitions were thwarted after his military service in [[World War I]]. Instead he built a successful legal practice, and grew closer to the [[Scottish Labour Party|Labour Party]], leading to his appointment in 1929 as a [[Law Officers of the Crown|law officer]].
A long-standing activist in the [[Scottish Liberal Party]], his political ambitions were thwarted after his military service in [[World War I]]. Instead he built a successful legal practice, and grew closer to the [[Scottish Labour Party|Labour Party]], leading to his appointment in 1929 as a [[Law Officers of the Crown|law officer]].
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== Early life ==
== Early life ==


Watson was born in [[Paisley]] on 9 July 1883. His father Henry C. Watson (died 1929)<ref name="dundee-et-1929-3kcs" /> was editor of a local newspaper, the ''[[Paisley Daily Express]]''.<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" />
Watson was born in [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]] on 9 July 1883. His father Henry C. Watson (died 1929)<ref name="dundee-et-1929-3kcs" /> was editor of a local newspaper, the ''[[Paisley Daily Express]]''.<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" />


He was educated locally at the [[John Neilson Institution]], and then at the [[University of Glasgow]].<ref name="times-obit" /> After graduating with an [[Master of Arts|MA]] in 1905<ref name="times-obit" /> and an [[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]] in 1908,<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" /> he was admitted to the [[Faculty of Advocates]] in 1909.<ref name="times-1929-law-officers" />
He was educated locally at the [[John Neilson Institution]], and then at the [[University of Glasgow]].<ref name="times-obit" /> After graduating with an [[Master of Arts|MA]] in 1905<ref name="times-obit" /> and an [[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]] in 1908,<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" /> he was admitted to the [[Faculty of Advocates]] in 1909.<ref name="times-1929-law-officers" />
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Watson served in the armed forces throughout World War I. He initially joined the [[Royal Fusiliers]], serving with the [[Mediterranean Expeditionary Force]] and then with the [[Egyptian Expeditionary Force]].<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" />
Watson served in the armed forces throughout World War I. He initially joined the [[Royal Fusiliers]], serving with the [[Mediterranean Expeditionary Force]] and then with the [[Egyptian Expeditionary Force]].<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" />


He then joined the [[Royal Flying Corps]] and its successor the [[Royal Air Force]], reaching the rank of [[captain (British Army)|captain]]. Stationed in [[Palestine]] from 1916 onwards,<ref name="dundee-et-1929-3kcs" /> his duties with the RAF included flying a 12-person secret expedition to the [[Hedjaz]] to liaise with [[T. E. Lawrence|Lawrence of Arabia]].<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" /><ref name="dundee-et-1929-3kcs" />
He then joined the [[Royal Flying Corps]] and its successor the [[Royal Air Force]], reaching the rank of [[captain (British Army)|captain]]. Stationed in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] from 1916 onward,<ref name="dundee-et-1929-3kcs" /> his duties with the RAF included flying a 12-person secret expedition to the [[Hedjaz]] to liaise with [[T. E. Lawrence|Lawrence of Arabia]].<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" /><ref name="dundee-et-1929-3kcs" />
He was [[mentioned in dispatches]],<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" /> and in 1918, he was made a [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE).<ref name="gazette-1918-mbe" />
He was [[mentioned in dispatches]],<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" /> and in 1918, he was made a [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE).<ref name="gazette-1918-mbe" />


After the war, he was expected to be the Liberal candidate for the [[Paisley by-election, 1920|Paisley by-election]] in January 1920.<ref name="times-obit" /> However, the party selected instead [[H. H. Asquith]], the former party leader and Prime Minister who had lost his seat in [[East Fife (UK Parliament constituency)|East Fife]] at the [[United Kingdom general election, 1918|1918 general election]].
After the war, he was expected to be the Liberal candidate for the [[1920 Paisley by-election|Paisley by-election]] in January 1920.<ref name="times-obit" /> However, the party selected instead [[H. H. Asquith]], the former party leader and Prime Minister who had lost his seat in [[East Fife (UK Parliament constituency)|East Fife]] at the [[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918 general election]].


Watson abandoned further hopes of a Parliamentary seat, and instead developed his legal career.<ref name="times-obit" /> He became one of the most prominent advocates, and in 1928 he was one of [[Oscar Slater]]'s counsel in a successful appeal against Slater's conviction in 1909 for murder.<ref name="times-1929-law-officers" />
Watson abandoned further hopes of a Parliamentary seat, and instead developed his legal career.<ref name="times-obit" /> He became one of the most prominent advocates, and in 1928 he was one of [[Oscar Slater]]'s counsel in a successful appeal against Slater's conviction in 1909 for murder.<ref name="times-1929-law-officers" />
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and appointed as [[Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland]].<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" />
and appointed as [[Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland]].<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" />


In retirement, he worked to support the armed services, especially the [[Highland regiments]]. During [[World War II]], Watson and his wife helped to provide woollens to RAF personnel.<ref name="dundee-et-1944-02-09" />
In his spare time, he worked to support the armed services, especially the [[Highland regiments]].<ref name="dundee-et-1944-02-09" />
During [[World War II]], while his son served overseas with the RAF,<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" />
Watson served on a number of government committees.<ref name="dundee-courier-1944-02-10" />
Watson was chairman of the Scottish Woolen Comforts Council,<ref name="abdn-wkly-jnl-1944-02-12" />
and his wife helped to provide woollens to RAF personnel.<ref name="dundee-et-1944-02-09" />

== Personal life ==
Watson married Dr Olive Robertson in 1915.<ref name="abdn-wkly-jnl-1944-02-12" /> They had one son.<ref name="abdn-wkly-jnl-1944-02-12" />


== Death ==
== Death ==
On 8 February 1944, Watson died suddenly at [[Stoke on Trent]], on a train from [[London]] to [[Edinburgh]].<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" /> He was 60 years old.
On 8 February 1944, Watson died suddenly at [[Stoke on Trent]], on a train from London to [[Edinburgh]].<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" /> He was 60 years old.


The [[inquest]] in [[Hanley, Staffordshire|Hanley]] found that he died from [[angina pectoris]], having been weakened by [[influenza]] about 6 weeks before his death.<ref name="dundee-et-1944-02-10" />
The [[inquest]] in [[Hanley, Staffordshire|Hanley]] found that he died from [[angina pectoris]], having been weakened by [[influenza]] about six weeks before his death.<ref name="dundee-et-1944-02-10" />


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist
{{Reflist
| colwidth = 35em
| colwidth =
| refs =
| refs =

<ref name="abdn-wkly-jnl-1944-02-12">{{cite news
| url = http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000573/19440217/096/0005
| title = This Week's Obituaries
| page = 5
| newspaper = [[Aberdeen Weekly Journal]]
| date = 17 February 1944
⚫
|url-access=subscription
⚫
| access-date = 13 January 2016
⚫
}}</ref>

<ref name="dundee-courier-1944-02-10">{{cite news
| url = http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19440210/065/0003
| title = Scots Knight dies on train
| page = 3
| newspaper = [[Dundee Courier]]
| date = 3 February 1944
⚫
|url-access=subscription
⚫
| access-date = 13 January 2016
⚫
}}</ref>


<ref name="dundee-et-1944-02-09">{{cite news
<ref name="dundee-et-1944-02-09">{{cite news
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| newspaper = [[Dundee Evening Telegraph]]
| newspaper = [[Dundee Evening Telegraph]]
| date = 9 February 1944
| date = 9 February 1944
⚫
|url-access=subscription
| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]
⚫
| access-date = 13 January 2016
⚫
| subscription = yes
⚫
| accessdate = 13 January 2016
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


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| newspaper = [[Dundee Evening Telegraph]]
| newspaper = [[Dundee Evening Telegraph]]
| date = 10 February 1944
| date = 10 February 1944
⚫
|url-access=subscription
| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]
⚫
| access-date = 13 January 2016
⚫
| subscription = yes
⚫
| accessdate = 13 January 2016
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


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| newspaper = [[Dundee Evening Telegraph]]
| newspaper = [[Dundee Evening Telegraph]]
| date = 29 March 1929
| date = 29 March 1929
⚫
|url-access=subscription
| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]
⚫
| access-date = 13 January 2016
⚫
| subscription = yes
⚫
| accessdate = 13 January 2016
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


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| issue = 33772
| issue = 33772
| date = 17 November 1931
| date = 17 November 1931
| startpage = 7409
|page=7409
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit">{{cite news
<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit">{{cite news
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OTtAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6245%2C2182871
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OTtAAAAAIBAJ&pg=6245%2C2182871
| title = Obituary: Sir John Watson, Sheriff of Caithness
| title = Obituary: Sir John Watson, Sheriff of Caithness
| newspaper = [[Glasgow Herald]]
| newspaper = [[Glasgow Herald]]
| date = 10 February 1944
| date = 10 February 1944
| page = 7
| page = 7
⚫
| access-date = 7 January 2016
| via = Google News
⚫
| accessdate = 7 January 2016
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
<ref name="gazette-1929-sol-gen">{{London Gazette
<ref name="gazette-1929-sol-gen">{{London Gazette
| issue = 14558
| issue = 14558
| date = 21 June 1929
| date = 21 June 1929
| startpage = 650
|page=650
| city = e
| city = e
⚫
}}</ref>
⚫
| accessdate = 7 January 2016
⚫
}}</ref>


<ref name="gazette-1929-kc">{{London Gazette
<ref name="gazette-1929-kc">{{London Gazette
| issue = 14537
| issue = 14537
| date = 9 April 1929
| date = 9 April 1929
| startpage = 371
|page=371
| city = e
| city = e
}}</ref>
⚫
| accessdate = 7 January 2016
⚫
}}</ref>


<ref name="gazette-1918-mbe">{{London Gazette
<ref name="gazette-1918-mbe">{{London Gazette
| issue = 31098
| issue = 31098
| date = 31 December 1918
| date = 31 December 1918
|pages=94–95
| startpage = 94
| endpage = 95
| supp = y
| supp = y
| city = l
| city = l
}}</ref>
⚫
| accessdate = 7 January 2016
⚫
}}</ref>


<ref name="times-1931-knighthood">{{cite news
<ref name="times-1931-knighthood">{{cite news
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| location = London, England
| location = London, England
| date = 17 November 1931
| date = 17 November 1931
| issue = Issue 45982
| issue = 45982
| page = 14
| page = 14
⚫
|url-access=subscription
| via = The Times Digital Archive
⚫
| access-date = 7 January 2016
⚫
| subscription = yes
⚫
| accessdate = 7 January 2016
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


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| location = London, England
| location = London, England
| date = 18 June 1929
| date = 18 June 1929
| issue = Issue 45232
| issue = 45232
| page = 16
| page = 16
|url-access=subscription
| via = The Times Digital Archive
⚫
| access-date = 7 January 2016
⚫
| subscription = yes
⚫
| accessdate = 7 January 2016
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


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| location = London, England
| location = London, England
| date = 10 February 1944
| date = 10 February 1944
| issue = Issue 49776
| issue = 49776
| page = 7
| page = 7
|url-access=subscription
| via = The Times Digital Archive
⚫
| access-date = 7 January 2016
⚫
| subscription = yes
| accessdate = 7 January 2016
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


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| before = [[Wilfrid Normand, Baron Normand|Wilfrid Normand]]
| before = [[Wilfrid Normand, Baron Normand|Wilfrid Normand]]
| title = [[Solicitor General for Scotland]]
| title = [[Solicitor General for Scotland]]
| years = 1929&ndash;1931
| years = 1929–1931
| after = [[Wilfrid Normand, Baron Normand|Wilfrid Normand]]
| after = [[Wilfrid Normand, Baron Normand|Wilfrid Normand]]
}}
}}
{{s-end}}
{{s-end}}


{{authority control}}
<!--- Categories --->


{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, John Charles}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, John}}
[[Category:1883 births]]
[[Category:1883 births]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Paisley]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Paisley, Renfrewshire]]
[[Category:People from Paisley, Renfrewshire]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow]]
[[Category:Members of the Faculty of Advocates]]
[[Category:Members of the Faculty of Advocates]]
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[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Scottish Liberal Party politicians]]
[[Category:Scottish Liberal Party politicians]]
[[Category:Scottish Queen's Counsel]]
[[Category:Scottish King's Counsel]]
[[Category:Queen's Counsel 1901–2000]]
[[Category:20th-century King's Counsel]]
[[Category:Solicitors General for Scotland]]
[[Category:Solicitors general for Scotland]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Scottish sheriffs]]
[[Category:Scottish sheriffs]]

Latest revision as of 07:38, 28 August 2024

Sir John Charles Watson, MBE KC (9 July 1883 – 8 February 1944) was an advocate and sheriff from Scotland. He served from 1929 to 1931 as Solicitor General for Scotland in Ramsay MacDonald's second Labour Government.

A long-standing activist in the Scottish Liberal Party, his political ambitions were thwarted after his military service in World War I. Instead he built a successful legal practice, and grew closer to the Labour Party, leading to his appointment in 1929 as a law officer.

Early life

[edit]

Watson was born in Paisley on 9 July 1883. His father Henry C. Watson (died 1929)[1] was editor of a local newspaper, the Paisley Daily Express.[2]

He was educated locally at the John Neilson Institution, and then at the University of Glasgow.[3] After graduating with an MA in 1905[3] and an LLB in 1908,[2] he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1909.[4]

Career

[edit]

With the help of his connections in the Liberal Party, Watson built a substantial legal practice.[3] It included a lot of Parliamentary work.[2][1]

Watson served in the armed forces throughout World War I. He initially joined the Royal Fusiliers, serving with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and then with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.[2]

He then joined the Royal Flying Corps and its successor the Royal Air Force, reaching the rank of captain. Stationed in Palestine from 1916 onward,[1] his duties with the RAF included flying a 12-person secret expedition to the Hedjaz to liaise with Lawrence of Arabia.[2][1] He was mentioned in dispatches,[2] and in 1918, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).[5]

After the war, he was expected to be the Liberal candidate for the Paisley by-election in January 1920.[3] However, the party selected instead H. H. Asquith, the former party leader and Prime Minister who had lost his seat in East Fife at the 1918 general election.

Watson abandoned further hopes of a Parliamentary seat, and instead developed his legal career.[3] He became one of the most prominent advocates, and in 1928 he was one of Oscar Slater's counsel in a successful appeal against Slater's conviction in 1909 for murder.[4]

He took silk in April 1929, becoming a King's Counsel.[6] Two months later, in June 1929, he was appointed as Solicitor General for Scotland by Ramsay MacDonald.[7][4] Watson's sympathies had shifted towards Labour since his disappointment in 1920, but he was never a member of the Labour Party. His appointment reflected the difficulties which Macdonald had in appointing Scottish law officers.[3]

He was knighted in the Dissolution Honours in November 1931[8][9] and appointed as Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland.[2]

In his spare time, he worked to support the armed services, especially the Highland regiments.[10] During World War II, while his son served overseas with the RAF,[2] Watson served on a number of government committees.[11] Watson was chairman of the Scottish Woolen Comforts Council,[12] and his wife helped to provide woollens to RAF personnel.[10]

Personal life

[edit]

Watson married Dr Olive Robertson in 1915.[12] They had one son.[12]

Death

[edit]

On 8 February 1944, Watson died suddenly at Stoke on Trent, on a train from London to Edinburgh.[2] He was 60 years old.

The inquest in Hanley found that he died from angina pectoris, having been weakened by influenza about six weeks before his death.[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Three New Scottish KCs". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 29 March 1929. p. 5. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Obituary: Sir John Watson, Sheriff of Caithness". Glasgow Herald. 10 February 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Obituary: Sir John Watson KC". The Times. No. 49776. London, England. 10 February 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "Scottish Law Officers". The Times. No. 45232. London, England. 18 June 1929. p. 16. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  5. ^ "No. 31098". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1918. pp. 94–95.
  6. ^ "No. 14537". The Edinburgh Gazette. 9 April 1929. p. 371.
  7. ^ "No. 14558". The Edinburgh Gazette. 21 June 1929. p. 650.
  8. ^ "Viscounty For Mr. Snowden. Dissolution honours". The Times. No. 45982. London, England. 17 November 1931. p. 14. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  9. ^ "No. 33772". The London Gazette. 17 November 1931. p. 7409.
  10. ^ a b "Sir John Watson's death followed influenza". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 9 February 1944. p. 3. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Scots Knight dies on train". Dundee Courier. 3 February 1944. p. 3. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  12. ^ a b c "This Week's Obituaries". Aberdeen Weekly Journal. 17 February 1944. p. 5. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Sir John Watson's death followed influenza". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 10 February 1944. p. 4. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
Legal offices
Preceded by Solicitor General for Scotland
1929–1931 		Succeeded by
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