Hugh Watson

Sir Hugh Watson
Sir Hugh Watson
Born	20 April 1872 Saltfleetby, Lincolnshire
Died	22 May 1954 (aged 82) Windsor, Berkshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1885–1928
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	HMS Essex HMS Bellerophon HMS Canada
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Admiral Sir Hugh Dudley Richards Watson KCB CVO CBE (20 April 1872 – 22 May 1954) was a Royal Navy officer who became Naval Secretary.

Naval career

Watson joined the Royal Navy in 1885. He was on 6 May 1902 appointed 1st Lieutenant on the armoured cruiser HMS Sutlej,^[1] soon to be commissioned for service on the China station. The following year he was promoted to the rank of Commander, and appointed Commander of the School of Physical Training^[2] before becoming Naval Attaché in Berlin in 1910^[3] and then serving in World War I as Captain of the cruiser HMS Essex from 1914, the battleship HMS Bellerophon from 1915 and the battleship HMS Canada from 1918.^[4]

He played one first-class cricket match for the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1908.^[5]

After the War he served with the Allied Post War Control Commission and then became Naval Secretary in 1921 before becoming Commander of the 4th Battle Squadron (renumbered the 3rd Battle Squadron in November 1924) and Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet in August 1923.^[3] His last appointment was as Admiral commanding the Reserve Fleet in 1926 before he retired in 1928.^[3]

References

1. "Naval & Military intelligence" The Times (London). Saturday, 19 April 1902. (36746), p. 9.
2. Navy List 1908. Worldnavalships.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-05.
3. Senior Royal Navy Appointments. (PDF). gulabin.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-05.
4. Hugh Dudley Richards WATSON. Wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-05.
5. "Player profile: Hugh Watson". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 June 2014.