John Watson (advocate): Difference between revisions
m →Career: typo |
→Career: RAF: His duties included flying a secret expedition to liaise with Lawrence of Arabia |
||
Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
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]]. 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 then joined the [[Royal Flying Corps]] and its successor the [[Royal Air Force]], reaching the rank of [[captain (British Army)|captain]]. His duties with the RAF included flying a secret expedition to the [[Hedjaz]] to liaise with [[T. E. Lawrence|Lawrence of Arabia]].<ref name="glasgow-herald-obit" /> 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 [[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]]. |
Revision as of 14:53, 10 January 2016
Sir John Charles Watson MBE KC (9 July 1883 – 8 February 1944) was a Sottish advocate and sheriff. He served from 1929 to 1931 as 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
Watson was born in Paisley on 9 July 1883. His father Henry C. Watson was editor of a local newspaper, the Paisley Daily Express.[1]
He was educated locally at the John Neilson Institution, and then at the University of Glasgow.[2] After graduating with an MA in 1905[2] and an LLB in 1908,[1] he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1909.[3]
Career
With the help of his connections in the Liberal Party, Watson built a substantial legal practice.[2] It included a lot of Parliamentary work.[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.[1]
He then joined the Royal Flying Corps and its successor the Royal Air Force, reaching the rank of captain. His duties with the RAF included flying a secret expedition to the Hedjaz to liaise with Lawrence of Arabia.[1] He was mentioned in dispatches,[1] and in 1918, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).[4]
After the war, he was expected to be the Liberal candidate for the Paisley by-election in January 1920.[2] 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.[2] 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.[3]
He took silk in April 1929, becoming a King's Counsel.[5] Two months later, in June 1929, he was appointed as Solicitor General for Scotland by Ramsay MacDonald.[6][3] 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.[2]
He was knighted in the Dissolution Honours in November 1931[7][8] and appointed as Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland.[1]
Death
On 8 February 1944, Watson died suddenly at Stoke on Trent, on a train from London to Edinburgh.[1] He was 60 years old.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Obituary: Sir John Watson, Sheriff of Caithness". Glasgow Herald. 10 February 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 7 January 2016 – via Google News.
- ^ a b c d e f "Obituary: Sir John Watson KC". The Times. No. Issue 49776. London, England. 10 February 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 7 January 2016 – via The Times Digital Archive.
{{cite news}}
:|issue=
has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|subscription=
ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c "Scottish Law Officers". The Times. No. Issue 45232. London, England. 18 June 1929. p. 16. Retrieved 7 January 2016 – via The Times Digital Archive.
{{cite news}}
:|issue=
has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|subscription=
ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ "No. 31098". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1918.
- ^ "No. 14537". The Edinburgh Gazette. 9 April 1929.
- ^ "No. 14558". The Edinburgh Gazette. 21 June 1929.
- ^ "Viscounty For Mr. Snowden. Dissolution honours". The Times. No. Issue 45982. London, England. 17 November 1931. p. 14. Retrieved 7 January 2016 – via The Times Digital Archive.
{{cite news}}
:|issue=
has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|subscription=
ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ "No. 33772". The London Gazette. 17 November 1931.
- 1883 births
- 1944 deaths
- People from Paisley
- Alumni of the University of Glasgow
- Members of the Faculty of Advocates
- British Army personnel of World War I
- Royal Fusiliers soldiers
- Royal Flying Corps officers
- Royal Air Force officers
- Royal Air Force personnel of World War I
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Scottish Liberal Party politicians
- Scottish Queen's Counsel
- Queen's Counsel 1901–2000
- Solicitors General for Scotland
- Knights Bachelor
- Scottish sheriffs