William Henry Armstrong Fitzpatrick Watson-Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, DL, (3 May 1863 – 16 October 1941), was a British benefactor. Born William Watson, he was born at 65

Eccleston Square Eccleston Square is a square in Pimlico, London. History The square dates to the 1830s, an integral part of Thomas Cubitt's planned design of "South Belgravia", which is now called Pimlico. Cubitt designed many of the houses on the square and bu ...

, London, and educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. His parents were John William Watson, of

Adderstone Hall Adderstone Hall () is a privately owned Georgian architecture, Georgian Grecian mansion situated on the bank of the River Warn near Lucker, Northumberland, Lucker, Northumberland. It is a Grade II* listed building from which the present owners ope ...

Belford, Northumberland Belford is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, about halfway between Alnwick and Berwick-upon-Tweed, a few miles inland from the east coast and just off the Great North Road, the A1. At the 2001 census it had a population of ...

and Margaret Godman Fitzpatrick, daughter of Patrick Persse Fitzpatrick, of

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), also known as Bognor, is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns include Littleham ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. His father's parents were Sir William Henry Watson,

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

, and Anne Armstrong, daughter of William Armstrong, a corn merchant and Mayor of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, whose son

William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, (26 November 1810 – 27 December 1900) was an English engineer and industrialist who founded the Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing concern on Tyneside. He was also an eminent scientist, inventor and phi ...

was the founder of the

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Tyne and Wear, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomot ...

manufacturing empire. In 1889 William Watson assumed by royal licence the additional surname of Armstrong. Watson-Armstrong served in the

Northumberland Hussars The Northumberland Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, transferred to the Royal Artillery for the duration of the Second World War. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of t ...

, where he was promoted

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 12 April 1902. He was

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the high sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...

in 1899, and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

in 1901. In 1900 he succeeded to the vast fortune of his great-uncle, Lord Armstrong. The following year he gave £100,000 (equivalent to £ in ), for the building of the new

Royal Victoria Infirmary The Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) is a 673-bed tertiary referral hospital and research centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with strong links to Newcastle University. The hospital is part of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation T ...

in Newcastle upon Tyne, for which the city conferred upon him the honorary Freedom in July 1901. The original 1753 infirmary buildings at Forth Banks near the river Tyne were inadequate and impossible to expand. In September 1901 he was awarded the honorary degree of

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...

(DCL) from the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

. In 1903 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Armstrong, of Bamburgh and Cragside in the County of Northumberland, a revival of the barony which had become extinct on his great-uncle's death three years earlier. Lord Armstrong was married three times. He married firstly Winifreda Jane Adye, daughter of General Sir

John Miller Adye General Sir John Miller Adye, GCB (1 November 181926 August 1900) was a British soldier and painter. Military career Adye was the son of Major James P. Adye, born at Sevenoaks, Kent, on 1 November 1819. He studied at the Royal Military Academ ...

, in 1889. They had one son and one daughter. After her death in December 1914 he married secondly Beatrice Elizabeth Cowx, daughter of Jonathan Cowx, in 1916. After her death in November 1934 he married thirdly Kathleen England (b. 12 August 1898), daughter of Reverend Charles Thorpe England, in 1935. The last two marriages were childless. Lord Armstrong died in October 1941, aged 78, and was succeeded in the barony by his only son,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. Lady Armstrong died on 2 September 1970.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, William Watson-Armstrong, 1st Baron 1863 births 1941 deaths Barons Armstrong People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Deputy lieutenants of Northumberland High sheriffs of Northumberland Northumberland Hussars officers Peers created by Edward VII Military personnel from the City of Westminster Volunteer Force officers 19th-century British Army personnel 20th-century British Army personnel