William Watson, Baron Thankerton

The Right Honourable William Watson, Baron Thankerton (8 December 1873 – 13 June 1948), PC, was a Scottish politician and judge.

Watson was the son of William Watson, Baron Watson, and was educated at Winchester and Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating with a third class degree in law in 1895.^[1] He was admitted as an advocate in 1899, taking silk in 1914.^[2] He was Procurator to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1918–22, and was an advocate depute in 1919.

Unionist Member of Parliament for Lanark South from 1913 to 1918^[3] and for Carlisle from 1924 to 1929,^[4] he held office as Solicitor General for Scotland from July 1922^[5] to November 1922, and as Lord Advocate from November 1922^[6] to February 1924 and from November 1924^[7] to May 1929. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1922. He was raised to the bench as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and created a life peer as Baron Thankerton, of Thankerton in the County of Lanarkshire on 1 May 1929, holding the post until his death at 74 in 1948.

References

1. "Watson, the Hon. William (WT891W)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
2. The Edinburgh Gazette: no. 12633. p. 57. 13 January 1914. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
3. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 551. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
4. Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 114. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
5. The London Gazette: no. 32728. p. 5193. 11 July 1922. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
6. The Edinburgh Gazette: no. 13863. p. 1718. 3 November 1922. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
7. The Edinburgh Gazette: no. 14076. p. 1439. 18 November 1924. Retrieved 10 January 2016.

Sources

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
• Concise Dictionary of National Biography

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Watson