Major-General Sir Harry Davis Watson, (18 July 1866 – 7 May 1945) was a British
Army officer. He was the son of
General Sir John Watson.
[The Times, Obituary, 8 May 1945]
Watson served as Chief Administrator of
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
in 1919, after his predecessor had been removed by London for not favoring the Zionists over the Arabs;
Watson was removed six months later for the same reason.
Military career
Watson was commissioned a
lieutenant in the
Dorset Regiment on 29 April 1885. He transferred to
British India, and saw action in the
Sikkim expedition.
Promoted to
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in 1896, he served in the
Imperial Service Troops of India.
In 1906 he was appointed as an extra
equerry
An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...
to the Prince of Wales, who became
George V in 1910. Watson later served in the
First World War, first as Inspector-General of the
Imperial Service Troops, and subsequently given control of the
20th Indian Brigade
The Garhwal Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army formed in 1902 as a result of the Kitchener Reforms. It was mobilized as 20th (Garhwal) Brigade at the outbreak of the First World War as part of the 7th (Meerut) Division ...
which served in the
Sinai and Palestine Campaign.
He was Chief Administrator of British occupied Palestine from June 1919 to December 1919.
References
1866 births
1945 deaths
Indian Army generals of World War I
Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Administrators of Palestine
Dorset Regiment officers
British Indian Army generals
British military personnel of the Sikkim expedition
19th-century British Army personnel
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