Biography of Private Arthur Watson (202487)
2nd/4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment
Died 26th September 1917

Soldier

  • Name: Arthur Watson
  • Date of birth: 1880
  • Place of Birth: Corby, Lincolnshire, England
  • Date of Birth Registration: July – September 1880
  • Place of Birth Registration: Bourne, Lincolnshire, England

Father

  • Name: John Thomas Watson
  • DOB: 1851
  • Place of Birth: Marston, Lincolnshire, England
  • Occupation: General labourer

Mother

  • Name: Fanny Christina Harrison
  • DOB: 1855
  • Place Of Birth: Kirky Underwood, Lincolnshire, England
  • Marriage: 25th May 1876 Irnham, Lincolnshire, England

Siblings: (Name), (DOB), (POB)

  • James Harrison Watson, 1873, Kirkby Underwood
  • Mary Ann Watson, 1877, Corby
  • Arthur Watson, 1880, Corby
  • Sarah Lizzie Watson, 1883, Corby
  • Emily Watson, 1886, Corby

Census

  • 1881: Arthur is living with his parents in the High Street, Corby, Lincolnshire
  • 1891: Arthur is living with his parents in Stone Pit Terrace, Corby, Lincolnshire
  • 1901: Arthur is not found yet.
  • 1911: Arthur is living with his wife and 2 children in The Row, Edenham, Lincolnshire. The census gives him an age of 20 and he is listed as a general labourer.
Relatives in services

  • None found

Wife

  • Name: Mary Maria Falkner
  • Date of birth: 1890
  • Place of Birth: Bourne, Lincolnshire, England

Marriage

  • Date of Marriage: 1909
  • Place of Marriage: Bourne District

Children

  • Ivy Watson, 1909, Bourne
  • Raymond Archibald Falkner Watson, 1910, Edenham
  • Emily Mary Amelia Watson, 1913, Bourne

Wife’s parents

  • Father: Charles Frederick Falkner
  • Mother: Eliza Ann Cartledge

Newspaper Mentions

  • Grantham Journal Saturday 13th October 1917
    KILLED IN ACTION:- Mrs Watson, of Hereward Street, Bourne, has received a letter from Pte. Hilton, of the Lincolnshire Regiment, stating that her husband, Pre Arthur Watson, had been killed in action. This has been confirmed by a letter from Second-Lieut. Percy Squirrell, stating that death took place on September 26th. The letter referred to the gallantry of the decreased, and expressed the deepest sympathy with the widow.

  • Grantham Journal Saturday 20 October 1917
    Pte. A. Watson of Corby.
    Pte. Arthur Watson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Watson of Corby was killed in action on September 26th.
    The sad news was conveyed in the rolling letter from an officer to his wife:- “Dear Mrs. Watson- I am sorry indeed to have to tell you your husband Pte. A. Watson met his death whilst fighting gallantly in the attack on September 26th. He will be greatly missed by us all. He was indeed, a brave, cheerful and fearless soldier and we all wish he might have been spared. With deepest sympathy from us all” Pte. Watson had worked on the Grimsthorpe Estate for a great number of years and was held in high esteem by his fellow workmen. He was thirty-eight years old. He leaves a wife and three children, who reside at Bourne.

  • War Office Weekly Casualty List November 13th 1917
    KILLED
    LINCOLNSHIRE REGIMENT
    Watson 202487 A. (Bourne)

Military Records

Attestation Papers

  • None found

Soldier’s Died In The Great War

  • These records show that Private Arthur Watson, 202487, 4th Bn, Lincolnshire Regiment was killed in action on 26th September 1917 in the Western European Theatre in France and Flanders.

Pension Records

  • Available

Effects Left To

  • Wife Mary M

Medals

  • The British Medal
  • The Victory Medal

Memorials

  • UK:
  • Bourne, Roll of Honour in Bourne Abbey Church
  • Bourne War Memorial in the Memorial Gardens

 

  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
  • In memory of Private Arthur. Watson, 202487, 2nd/4th Bn., Lincolnshire Regiment who died on 26 September 1917.
  • Remembered with honour, Tyne Cot Memorial
  • Panel 35 to 37.

 

© BNA

© Picture taken by South Lincolnshire War Memorials

© Picture taken by South Lincolnshire War Memorials

Military Service Timeline

  • This is ongoing research and will be posted when completed

Sources

  • WW1 Soldier’s Records (www.ancestry.co.uk)
  • British Newspaper Archive.
  • Fold 3
  • Find My Past
  • Genealogist
  • Forces War Records
  • British Army Service Numbers
  • War Gratuity Calculator
  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  • National Archives – Battalion War Diaries
  • General Registry Office