BORN HULL 1877. SON OF ROBERT LAWSON WATSON (1853-1923) & ELIZABETH WATSON – 14 BANK STREET, HULL (1881 CENSUS). HUSBAND OF J S WATSON, OF 204 HOWARD AVENUE, BENONI, TRANSVAAL, SOUTH AFRICA. SERVED IN GERMAN EAST AFRICA IN 1916 , WITH THE 7TH SOUTH AFRICAN INFANTRY. HE DIED ON 28/06/1917, AGED 40, WHILE UNDER OPERATION ON HIS KNEE. HE WAS PROMOTED SECOND LIEUTENANT, SHORTLEY BEFORE HIS DEATH.
HE WAS AWARDED THE DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL (DCM) AND MENTIONED IN DISPATCHES (MID). HE ALSO HELD THE LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT MEDALS. HIS CWGC GRAVE INSCRIPTION READS, “DUTY NOBLY DONE”.
Citations: London Gazette, 26 May 1917 – “For devotion to duty. This Warrant Officer, by his untiring energy and devotion to duty, has set an excellent example to the Non-Commissioned Officers and men of the regiment”; MID LG Sup 8 Feb 1917 vol. 29933 pg. 1355
The post-nominal letters DCM, was established in 1854 by Queen Victoria as a decoration for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranking below the Victoria Cross, until its discontinuation in 1993 when it was replaced by the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. The medal was also awarded to non-commissioned military personnel of other Commonwealth Dominions and Colonies.
A member of the armed forces mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which his or her gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy is described. Those mentioned in despatches (MiD) are not awarded a medal for their action, but receive a certificate and wear an oak leaf device on the ribbon of the appropriate campaign medal. In the British Armed Forces, the despatch is published in the London Gazette. In all, 141,082 mentions were recorded in the London Gazette between 1914 and 1920.
