Oliver Cyril Spencer Watson VC DSO (7 September 1876 – 28 March 1918) was an English posthumous recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Biography

Educated at St Paul's School, London, and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

, in 1897 Watson was commissioned into the

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

and posted to the regiment's 2nd battalion, then serving in India. He took part in the

Tirah Expedition The Tirah campaign, often referred to in contemporary British accounts as the Tirah expedition, was an Indian frontier campaign from September 1897 to April 1898. Tirah is a mountainous tract of country in what was formally known as Federally ...

of 1897–1898 on the North West Frontier, in which he was severely wounded, and saw action again in the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

of 1900. He was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1898 and after being invalided from India in 1903 he retired to the reserve of regular officers in 1904. In 1909 he joined the County of London Yeomanry (Middlesex, Duke of Cambridge's Hussars). He was promoted Lieutenant in 1911,

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 1913. He served in

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

in April 1915 and was promoted to major in July 1915, before returning to the UK. Attached to the 2/5th King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry from his Yeomanry unit in 1916, he went to France as the second-in-command in 1917. He was Mentioned in Despatches and awarded the DSO in May 1917, having been wounded at

Bullecourt Bullecourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in France. Geography Bullecourt lies on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume and east of the A1 motorway. Thisatellite photographs ...

on 3 May 1917.

Victoria Cross

Watson was 41 years old, and an Acting Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the

5th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The 5th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (5th Bn KOYLI), was a unit of Britain's Territorial Force formed in 1908 from Volunteer units originally raised in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1860. It served in some of the bitterest fig ...

(now part of

The Rifles The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles was formerly ...

) during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 28 March 1918 at Rossignol Wood, north of Hebuterne,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, a counter-attack had been made against the enemy position which at first achieved its object, but as they were holding out in two improvised strong-points, Lieutenant Colonel Watson saw that immediate action was necessary and he led his remaining small reserve to the attack, organising bombing parties and leading attacks under intense fire. Outnumbered, he finally ordered his men to retire, remaining himself in a communication trench to cover the retirement. The assault he led was at a critical moment and without doubt saved the line, but he was killed covering the withdrawal. Lieutenant Colonel Watson has no known grave.vconline.org.uk
/ref> He is remembered at the CWGC Cemetery at Arras, France and listed under the Middlesex Hussars (Yeomanry); his parent unit. In 1956, Watson's medals were loaned to the Green Howards Regimental Museum, then in 1992 were donated as a gift to the Regiment by the husband of Watson's niece, Mrs Catherine Whittuck. A copy of his Victoria Cross is displayed at the

Green Howards Regimental Museum The Green Howards Regimental Museum is the museum of the Green Howards infantry regiment of the British Army. It is located in the old Trinity Church in the centre of the market place of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, ...

, Richmond, North Yorkshire.

References

Bibliography

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 36 ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fol ...

(This England, 1997) *

External links

CWGC entryMasonic Roll of Honour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Oliver Cyril Spencer 1876 births 1918 deaths Military personnel from Westminster Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at St Paul's School, London Green Howards officers King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers British military personnel of the Tirah campaign Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army personnel of World War I British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of the Boxer Rebellion British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Middlesex Yeomanry officers Missing in action of World War I