Vice Admiral Sir Robert Dymock Watson (5 April 1904 – 3 February 1988) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic and South America Station.

Naval career

Watson joined the

in 1918.Sir Robert Dymock Watson
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

as Assistant Director of Plans on the Joint Planning Staff from 1944. After the War he was appointed to the

1st Destroyer Flotilla The 1st Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the First Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from 1909 to 1940 and again from 1947 to 1951. History Pre-war history In May 1906, the First Destroyer Flotilla was at ...

in the Mediterranean Fleet and then, in 1950, became Director of Plans at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

. He went on to be Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier in 1953 and Flag Officer, Flotillas in the Mediterranean Fleet in 1954. He was made

Fourth Sea Lord The Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Supplies originally known as the Fourth Naval Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty which controlled the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom the post is currently known ...

and Chief of Supplies and Transport in 1955 and Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic and South America Station in 1958. He made an official visit to

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...

before retiring in 1961. He lived at Trebinshwyn in

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

Personal life

His grandson is the actor and comedian

Humphrey Ker David Humphrey Rivers Ker (; born 11 October 1982) is a British actor, writer and comedian who is a member of the sketch comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls. Early life and education Ker was born to David Peter James Ker, a fine art dealer, ...

, who based his 2011

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

show ''Dymock Watson: Nazi Smasher!'' on Watson's exploits in the Second World War.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Dymock 1904 births 1988 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War II Military personnel from Surrey Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Lords of the Admiralty