James Henry Digby "Bungy" Watson (31 August 1890 – 15 October 1914) was an English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He won 3 caps for England, all in the

1914 Five Nations Championship The 1914 Five Nations Championship was the fifth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-secon ...

. He was killed while serving as a surgeon aboard when it was torpedoed and sunk by ''U-9'' in 1914 during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and is commemorated on the

Chatham Naval Memorial Chatham Naval Memorial is a large obelisk situated in the town of Chatham, Kent, which is in the Medway Towns. The memorial is a feature of the Great Lines Heritage Park. The huge expanse of the Great Lines was in its own right a layer of defenc ...

Early life

Watson was born on 31 August 1890 at

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

to Eliza V. Watson and her husband Captain James Herbert Watson, an engineer in the Royal Navy. He attended

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

from September 1899 to April 1906, and played for the First XV in 1905. He then transferred to

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

for his final two years of schooling, playing for the First XV there too. There he earned his nickname "Bungy" after using the King's Canterbury term for a

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

, which was unknown at the Academy. He then studied medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

from 1908 to 1913, graduating

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

. At University, he played for the University Rugby XV, and was also the University middleweight boxing champion.

Rugby career

International appearances

Military service

At the start of the World War I, Watson was appointed Surgeon in the Royal Navy aboard HMS ''Hawke''. The ship was part of the Northern Patrol, and on 15 October 1914, ''Hawke'' and HMS ''Theseus'' were patrolling in the North Sea, 60 miles off

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

when a torpedo launched by the German submarine ''U-9'' struck the ''Hawke'' amidships. The impact detonated the ship's magazine and caused two large explosions. The ship sank quickly with the loss of 525 men, including Watson. He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial, at Twickenham war memorial, and at Blackheath.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Bungy 1890 births 1914 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players British military personnel killed in World War I English surgeons People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century surgeons Rugby union players from Portsmouth