George William Watson (1919 - 2006)

Born 9 Nov 1919 in Hammersmith, Middlesex

Ancestors

Son of William George Watson and Frances Lay (Jones) Watson

Descendants

Died 13 Feb 2006 at age 86 in Thetford, Norfolk

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Derrick Watson [send private message]

Biography

George was born at home at 47 Cathnor Road, Shepherd's Bush on the 9th November 1919. His father, William George, is described as being a Journeyman Shoemaker - ex Army. His mother Frances Lay [Jones] registered the birth on the 11th December ^[1]. He often said that his birthday was the day after the Lord Mayor's parade - his phrase being "After the Lord Mayor's Show came George", George being the guy with the shovel and bucket to pick up what the horses left behind.

George narrowly escaped being sent to Singapore with the rest of East Surrey Regiment - purely because of the occasion of his mother's death. He was given leave to go home to London to make arrangements, when he got back to Dover Castle the rest of his regiment had shipped overseas.

When he was told of his mother's death, the CSM (C Company - possibly Sgt. Mason, but he wasn't sure of the name) lent him 10 shillings for his train fare back to London from Dover as otherwise he would have had to hitch a lift. The CSM was, of course, one of the many who went to Singapore and never returned.

George served in several roles during the war. While he was at Dover he was on mine sweeping patrol. That early in the war we had no dedicated mine sweepers, instead we used wooden fishing boats with some poor bloke with a gun. The idea was to shoot the mines while they were far enough away not to blow you up. He only did this for four months, not quite long enough to qualify him for the associated medal.

After that he served on Bren gun carriers, as a motorcycle dispatch rider and on the mule train at Monte Casino. He was finally out of active service when he his unit was wiped out by a mortar shell. He was found wandering naked and blind on the battlefield by one of his friends. Fortunately he eventually recovered his sight, but recovering his confidence after the war took a very long time.

He died in 2006 in Thetford, Norfolk ^[2]

DNA Matches

• Paternal and Maternal relationship is confirmed by a GEDmatch test match between Derrick Watson and his first cousin CF. Their most-recent common ancestors are Georges' parents William Watson and Frances Lay Jones. Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 1.9, based on sharing 1068 cM across 38 segments.
• Maternal relationship is confirmed by a triangulated group on GEDmatch consisting of Derrick Watson, Lorne Newson, BM and MB sharing a 13.6 cM segment on chromosome 3. The most recent common ancestor shared by all four is George’s G3 grandfather James Murrant.
• Paternal relationship is confirmed by a GEDmatch test match between BW and his 2nd cousin once removed John Vincent. Their MRCAs are Georges' grandparents George Watson and Emma Webb. Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 3.5, based on sharing 119.0 cM across 6 segments.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Certificate
2. ↑ Death Certificate