Profile

WATSON, William
(Service number 78267)

Taiko War Memorial — The Memorial reads "In Honoured Memory of the men of Tycno District who gave their lives in the Great War 1914 - 1918. Sergt R F Piper, Lc Cpl F Annand, Pte J J O'Boyle, Pte H J Wallace Pte W Watson, Pte J Barbour". (South Canterbury Museum 1161)

Taiko Hall (interior) — Showing the First and Second World War memorial plaques over the fireplace. (Courtesy of Clive Callow )

Taiko Hall World War One plaque — Mounted inside the Taiko Hall, alongside a Second World War plaque. Photographed October 2014. (Courtesy of Clive Callow )

Taiko War Memorial, photographed in 2007 — South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.21 #01 (South Canterbury Museum )

Taiko War Memorial, World War One plaque, photographed in 2007 — South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.21 #02 (South Canterbury Museum )

Aliases	William David WATSON in burial record
First Rank	Private	Last Rank

Birth

Date	12/10/1891	Place of Birth	Forglen, Banffshire, Scotland

Enlistment Information

Date	2 May 1917	Age	30 years 6 months
Address at Enlistment	38 Wilson Street, Timaru
Occupation	Waterside worker
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status	Married. Married Hannah CHRISTIAN on 11 January 1916 at Timaru. Children - Hannah Isobel Robina born on 16 August 1916 at Timaru; twins Doris Maud & Willamina born on 12 October 1918 at Timaru.
Next of Kin	Mrs W. WATSON (wife), Avenue Road, Timaru
Religion	Presbyterian
Medical Information	Height 5 feet 3½ inches. Weight 145 lbs. Chest measurement 34½-37 inches. Complexion fark. Eyes brown. Hair black. Sight - both eyes 6/6. Hearing and colour vision both normal. Limbs well formed. Full and perfect movement of all joints. Chest well formed. Heart and lungs normal. No illnesses. Free from hernia, varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Vaccinated. Good bodily and mental health. No slight defects. No fits. Hair lip scars. Cleft Palette scar. Class A.

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	39th Reinforcement, C Company
Date	13 June 1918
Transport	Athenic
Embarked From		Destination	Liverpool, Merseyside, England

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns	Western European
Service Medals	British War Medal
Military Awards

Award Circumstances and Date

No information

Prisoner of War Information

Date of Capture
Where Captured and by Whom
Actions Prior to Capture
PoW Serial Number
PoW Camps
Days Interned
Liberation Date

Discharge

Date	25 April 1919	Reason	No longer physically fit for war service (Chronic Otitis Media).

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	22 March 1977	Age	85 years
Place of Death	Waimate
Cause
Notices	Timaru Herald, 25 March 1977
Memorial or Cemetery	Timaru Cemetery
Memorial Reference	General Section, Row 49, Plot 157B
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

William WATSON , 78267, was the son of David and Annie (née HAY) WATSON, of Scotland. He came to New Zealand about 1910, followed by his parents a couple of years later, and probably his sisters Annie Bella and Jessie Smith WATSON.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [28 April 2016]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5557 0119777) [10 December 2015]; Timaru Herald, 13 & 28 March 1919, 4 April 1919 (Papers Past) [27 & 29 April 2016]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [28 April 2016]; Timaru Herald, 25 March 1977 (Timaru District Library) [29 April 2016]

External Links

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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.