William John Montagu Watson-Armstrong, 2nd Baron Armstrong (10 October 1892 – 6 July 1972) was a British and Canadian aristocrat and soldier.

Early life

Armstrong was born in 1892 as the first child of the businessman William Watson-Armstrong and Winifreda Jane (''née'' Adye). When Armstrong was 11 in 1903, his father was created

Baron Armstrong Baron Armstrong is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came on 6 July 1887 when the industrialist Sir William Armstrong was made Baron Armstrong, of Cragside in the County of Northumber ...

after inheriting his industrialist

great-uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an unc ...

's wealth but not title in 1900, at which point he became The Hon William Watson-Armstrong. Armstrong was educated at Eton and then Trinity College, where he received a first class degree in history in 1914.

Military service

Commissioned into the 7th Battalion of the

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and ...

in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

in 1913, Armstrong served during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a captain in France and Belgium, being mentioned in despatches and severely wounded in the

Second Battle of Ypres The Second Battle of Ypres was fought from 22 April – 25 May 1915, during the First World War, for control of the tactically-important high ground to the east and the south of the Flanders, Flemish town of Ypres, in western Belgium. The ...

in 1915, and invalided home in November 1917. Thereafter he served in India for a year from 1918 to 1919.

Personal life

Armstrong married Zaida Cecile Drummond-Wolff in 1917 in Billere during the Great War. Their only child, William Henry Cecil John Robin Watson-Armstrong, was born in 1919.

Diplomatic service

In 1924, Armstrong moved to Canada, where he was appointed Consul for

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, and after five years promoted in 1929 to

Consul-General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

, where he stayed in post until 1942, through the

Siamese revolution of 1932 The Siamese revolution of 1932 or Siamese coup d'état of 1932 ( or ) was a coup d'état by the People's Party which occurred in Siam on 24 June 1932. It ended Siam's centuries-long absolute monarchy rule under the Chakri dynasty and resulte ...

to do so on behalf of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. For his service, he was appointed Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Siam The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) for Thais, the royal family, governmental employees, and foreign dignitaries for their outstanding servi ...

and Commander of the

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

. In 1941, Armstrong's father died, and he succeeded as 2nd Lord Armstrong. He remained in Canada. In 1942, Armstrong became Consul of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

for British Columbia and Yukon, serving until 1946, for which he was appointed Commander of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

Retirement and death

Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Armstrong returned to the UK in 1946, splitting his time between

Cragside Cragside is a Victorian era, Victorian Tudor Revival architecture, Tudor Revival country house near the town of Rothbury in Northumberland, England. It was the home of William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, founder of the Armstrong Whitworth a ...

and

Bamburgh Castle Bamburgh Castle, on the northeast coast of England, by the village of Bamburgh in Northumberland, is a Grade I listed building. The site was originally the location of a Celtic Britons, Celtic Brittonic fort known as ''Din Guarie'' and may have ...

. Armstrong died in 1972, and was succeeded by his son.

References

External links

A portrait of Armstrong as a young boy
by

Mary Lemon Waller Mary Lemon Waller (born Mary Lemon Fowler) (1851–1931) was a British portrait painter, who specialised in child portraits. Biography Mary Lemon was born to Rev. Hugh Fowler of Burnwood, Gloucestershire. She began her education in art at a ...

A souvenir celebrating Armstrong's coming of age on his 21st birthday
held by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

A photographic portrait of Lord and Lady Armstrong in 1953
held by the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, William Watson-Armstrong, 2nd Baron 1892 births 1972 deaths Barons Armstrong Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers Territorial Force officers British Army personnel of World War I