William Thornton Watson, DSO, MC, DCM (10 November 1887 – 9 September 1961) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

er who served as an officer in the Australian Imperial Force in both World Wars. Prior to and after the

First World War 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 ...

he had a distinguished

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 ...

career, representing

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in eight Test matches and captaining the national side on three occasions. During the

New Guinea Campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 Jan ...

in the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

he was the Commanding Officer of the

Papuan Infantry Battalion The Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB) was a unit of the Australian Army raised in the Territory of Papua for service during the Second World War. Formed in early 1940 in Port Moresby to help defend the territory in the event of a Japanese invasion, ...

. Following the war, he served as Australia's Vice – Consul to New York.

Early life and rugby career

Born in

Nelson, New Zealand (Let him, who has earned it, bear the palm) , image_map = Nelson CC.PNG , mapsize = 200px , map_caption = , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = ...

to Australian parents, Watson's father Robert was a blacksmith who had been born in Tasmania. At age 24 William relocated to Sydney and joined the inner-city Newtown Rugby Union Club, playing at

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

.Howell p68 In 1912 he made his representative debut for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and that same year was selected for the

1912 Australia rugby union tour of Canada and the USA The 1912 Australia rugby union tour of Canada and the United States was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the Australia national rugby union team against various invitational teams from Canada and the U.S, and also against ...

. The tour was a disappointment with the squad billeted out in college fraternity houses where the hospitality played havoc with team discipline and as result the team lost against two California University sides and three Canadian provincial sides. Watson played in the sole Test match of the tour as well as ten other tour matches of the total possible sixteen. He made appearances for New South Wales in 1913 against the visiting New Zealand Maori and he toured New Zealand with the 1913

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

captained by

Larry Dwyer Lawrence Joseph Dwyer (2 February 1884 – August 1964) was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative fullback who captained the Wallabies in 1913. Dwyer, a fullback, was born in Orange, New South Wales. He was sc ...

, appearing in a total of eight of the nine matches played including all three

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

packing the scrum in a consistent front-row combination with Harold George and David Williams. When the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

toured to Sydney in 1914 Watson was picked to play against them for New South Wales, as a Wallaby in the first Test in at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

and in a Metropolitan Sydney side in a mid-week game. An injury prevented his selection in further representative appearances against them.

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 ...

which broke out during the tour, cut short Watson's rugby career as it did for so many other promising players yet would provide ample opportunity for grave displays of valour and courage.

First World War

Watson enlisted early in the war joining the

Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of World War I to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Guin ...

in August 1914 and seeing early action in operations seizing German wireless stations in

German New Guinea German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

and New Ireland.ADB After his discharge, back in Sydney Watson enlisted as a Gunner in the 1st Divisional Artillery in March 1915. His unit embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A35 ''Berrima'' in June 1915.AIF Project A letter home from his Wallaby team-mate Clarrie Wallach says that Watson saw action at

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 ...

. He landed there in August and joined the 1st Field Artillery Brigade. Evacuated from Gallipoli via Egypt his unit was transferred to the Western Front in March 1916 and soon promoted to Sergeant. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in September 1917. In action on the Western Front he was in November 1917 awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

for ''"gallantry and coolness in going to the assistance of wounded men under heavy fire"'' and shortly thereafter was promoted to full

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 May 1919 he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for gallantry as forward Observation Officer at

Faucoucourt Faucoucourt () is a former commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune of Anizy-le-Grand.heoutposts, directing the fire of three batteries, which gave great assistance to the infantry by barraging machine gun nests and strong posts"'' Late in the war he would earn a bar to his MC for conspicuous gallantry displayed in heavy bombardment near

Bellicourt Bellicourt () is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It lies on the N44 road between Cambrai and Saint-Quentin and over the principal tunnel of the St. Quentin Canal. It was the site of numerous intense c ...

on 2–3 October 1918 when although badly gassed, he tried to save the life of a wounded officer and stayed in command of his battery until withdrawn from the line. At war's end and during the long process of disembarking 250,000 Australian AIF troops from Europe, he was selected as captain of the AIF Rugby XV. The team represented the Australian Forces in the King's Cup rugby competition among the nations represented in the allied armies with teams representing the British, Canadian, New Zealand and South African armies as well as the

RAF 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) and ...

. The AIF XV played 16 matches winning 12 and featured a number of Wallaby representatives including

Dan Carroll Dan Carroll (born December 17, 1949) is an American speed skater. He competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics and the 1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winte ...

Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

and Dudley Suttor.Howell p70 After the competition the AIF XV played a number of games in South Africa and played eight games in Australia against national,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and other regional sides. Watson played in five of the eight games, all as captain and Howell credits the tour with reviving rugby union in eastern Australia at a time when the game was in a weakened state and greatly threatened by the momentum built up by

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

's continuance of competition throughout the war.

Interbellum

Back in Australia after the war Watson took up first grade rugby again and at aged 32 joined the new venture Glebe-Balmain club, which had merged those two prior clubs as a result of the player losses each had suffered in the War. In 1920 he was selected as captain of the New South Wales state team and led them in three matches against a touring

side. With no

Queensland Rugby Union The Queensland Rugby Union, or QRU, is the Sports governing body, governing body for the sport of rugby union within the state of Queensland in Australia. It is a member and founding union of Rugby Australia. The QRU was founded in Brisbane in ...

administration or competition in place from 1919 to 1929, the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

were the top

n representative

side of the period and a number of their fixtures of 1920s played against full international opposition were decreed by the

Australian Rugby Union Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named the Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It ...

in 1986 as official Test matches. Though he was not aware of it at the time, Watson's three appearances as captain of New South Wales were Test match captaincy fixtures. All told Watson played 46 matches for Newtown, 13 for Glebe-Balmain and 22 matches for New South Wales. He played 24 matches for Australia including the three NSW Tests of 1920 plus five other pre-war Tests. From 1920 to 25 and then from 1932 to 39 he lived in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

working in copra production and gold-mining. Fitzsimons quotes from the Johnston reference: ''"For years atsonwas one of the best known soldiers of fortune in New Guinea. He recruited native labour (in a period he still refers to as his "blackbirding days"); traded around the island in crazy schooners; tried cattle ranching; worked as trader, beachcomber, plantation manager and then as a gold prospector in the then practically unknown Owen Stanley Ranges. Several times he struck it rich, and always the money seemed to run away"''. In Sydney in 1929 he married American-born Cora May Callear. They would relocate to

Columbiana, Ohio Columbiana is a city in northern Columbiana County, Ohio, Columbiana and southern Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 6,559 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Micropo ...

in 1935 and raise a son and a daughter.

Second World War and later life

At the commencement of

, Watson returned to Australia and served in the 2nd Australian Garrison Battalion. In June 1940 his pre-war New Guinea experience (and his ability to speak local New Guinea dialect)Fitzsimons p182 was put to use when he was posted to the

, a force of native soldiers and Australian officers and

NCOs A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

. He took command of the unit in 1942. Upon Japan's invasion of New Guinea on 21 July 1942 and the commencement of the

Kokoda Track campaign The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 in what was then the Australian Territory of Papua. It was prima ...

, the PIB were the first Australian Army unit to make contact with the Japanese. Together with the 39th Battalion the PIB made up

Maroubra Force Maroubra Force was the name given to the ad hoc Australian infantry force that defended Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from the Japanese, and was involved in the Kokoda Track Campaign of the Pacific War, World War II. The force was established by ...

which engaged the Japanese in the first unsuccessful defence of the

Kokoda Kokoda is a station town in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. It is famous as the northern end of the Kokoda Track, site of the eponymous Kokoda Track campaign of World War II. In that campaign, it had strategic significance because it had the ...

airstrip on 28 July 1942. Upon the death in action of the battalion commander Lieutenant-Colonel

William T. Owen Lieutenant Colonel William Taylor Owen (27 May 1905 – 29 July 1942) was an Australian Army officer who served during the Second World War. A survivor of the Battle of Rabaul, he was killed in action leading the 39th Battalion during the Kok ...

, Watson took temporary command and the led a fighting retreat back towards the village of Deniki, a mile or so back along the Kokoda Track towards Isurava. For his bravery and leadership during the withdrawal, Watson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He was promoted to

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 1 September 1942 and in that rank was the

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the PIB through till April 1944. Watson returned to the US after the war. From 1945 to 1952 he served as Australia's vice-consul in New York. He died in the Veterans Administration Hospital in Brooklyn, New York in 1961.

Honours and awards

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(with bar) *

1914–15 Star The 1914–15 Star is a campaign medal of the British Empire which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served in any theatre of the First World War against the Central European Powers during 1914 and 1915. The me ...

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

* Victory Medal * 1939/45 Star *

Pacific Star The Pacific Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Pacific Campaign from 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War. One clasp, Burma, was ...

War Medal A war medal is a military decoration awarded in time of war, as opposed to a service medal. It may refer to, for example: *War Medal (Norway) *Campaign medal *Global War on Terrorism Service Medal *British War Medal, British Empire medal for servi ...

Australia Service Medal 1939–1945 The Australia Service Medal 1939–1945 recognises service in Australia's armed forces, Mercantile Marine and Volunteer Defence Corps during World War II. Award criteria Gazetted in November 1949, initially, the qualifying period was at least 1 ...

Footnotes

References

* Fielding, Marcus (2019) ''Comrades in Arms and Rugby - The Remarkable Achievements of the 1919 Australian Imperial Force Rugby Union Squad'', Echo Books, Australia. * Howell, Max (2005) ''Born to Lead – Wallaby Test Captains'', Celebrity Books, Auckland NZ. * Sweeting, A. J. (1990) 'Watson, William Thornton (1887–1961)', ''Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol 12'' National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. * Fitzsimons, Peter (2004) ''Kokoda'' Hachette, Australia * Johnston, George H. (1943) ''New Guinea Diary'', Angus & Robertson, Sydney * Collection (1995) ''Gordon Bray presents The Spirit of Rugby'', Harper Collins Publishers Sydney

External links

Watson's service record at the AIF project

Fighting Retreat at Kokoda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, William Australian rugby union players Australian rugby union captains Australia international rugby union players 1887 births 1961 deaths People from Columbiana, Ohio Australian military personnel of World War I Rugby union players from Nelson, New Zealand Rugby union props