Sir John Charles Watson, (9 July 1883 – 8 February 1944) was an advocate and sheriff from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. He served from 1929 to 1931 as

Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...

in Ramsay MacDonald's

second Labour Government The second (symbol: s) is the unit of Time in physics, time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally t ...

. A long-standing activist in the

Scottish Liberal Party The Scottish Liberal Party, the section of the Liberal Party in Scotland, was the dominant political party of Victorian Scotland, and although its importance declined with the rise of the Labour and Unionist parties during the 20th century, it ...

, his political ambitions were thwarted after his military service in

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 ...

. 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 (died 1929) was editor of a local newspaper, the ''

Paisley Daily Express The ''Paisley Daily Express'' is a Scottish newspaper based in Glasgow, covering the Renfrewshire area. The paper, which is currently owned by Reach plc has its main offices in Glasgow. The paper is sold in newsagents and general stores throu ...

''. He was educated locally at the

John Neilson Institution Castlehead High School is a non-denominational, mixed state secondary school in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. It was opened in 1971. In 1989, John Neilson High School (founded as the John Neilson Institution in 1852) merged into Castlehead ...

, and then at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. After graduating with an MA in 1905 and an

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1908, he was admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

in 1909.

Career

With the help of his connections in the Liberal Party, Watson built a substantial legal practice. It included a lot of Parliamentary work. 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 The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning ...

. He then joined the Royal Flying Corps and its successor the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, reaching the rank of captain. Stationed in Palestine from 1916 onward, his duties with the RAF included flying a 12-person secret expedition to the Hedjaz to liaise with

Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–191 ...

. He was mentioned in dispatches, and in 1918, he was made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE). After the war, he was expected to be the Liberal candidate for the Paisley by-election in January 1920. However, the party selected instead

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

, 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. He became one of the most prominent advocates, and in 1928 he was one of

Oscar Slater Oscar Joseph Slater (8 January 1872 – 31 January 1948) was the victim of a miscarriage of justice in Scotland. Wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death, he was freed after almost two decades of hard labour at Scotland’s HM Priso ...

's counsel in a successful appeal against Slater's conviction in 1909 for murder. He took silk in April 1929, becoming a King's Counsel. Two months later, in June 1929, he was appointed as

by Ramsay MacDonald. 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. He was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in the Dissolution Honours in November 1931 and appointed as

Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...

. In his spare time, he worked to support the armed services, especially the

Highland regiments A Scottish regiment is any regiment (or similar military unit) that at some time in its history has or had a name that referred to Scotland or some part thereof, and adopted items of Scottish dress. These regiments were created after the Acts ...

. During

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 ...

, while his son served overseas with the RAF, Watson served on a number of government committees. Watson was chairman of the Scottish Woolen Comforts Council, and his wife helped to provide woollens to RAF personnel.

Personal life

Watson married Dr Olive Robertson in 1915. They had one son.

Death

On 8 February 1944, Watson died suddenly at Stoke on Trent, on a train from London to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. He was 60 years old. The inquest in Hanley found that he died from

angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of obstru ...

, having been weakened by influenza about six weeks before his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, John 1883 births 1944 deaths Military personnel from Paisley, Renfrewshire People from Paisley, Renfrewshire 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 King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Solicitors General for Scotland Knights Bachelor Scottish sheriffs