Edwin Watson

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Edwin Watson

• Edwin Watson, 1938 (HUC/APD) Edwin Watson was born on Thursday, 28th May, 1914, in Pittenweem, Fife. The 5' 8 (10st 7lbs) forward signed for Donald Turner's Thistle on Monday, 27th April, 1936, having most recently been with Crossgates Primrose. Aged 22, he made his debut appearance on Monday, 12th April, 1937, in a 2-2 draw away to Dundee in the SFL First Division. Edwin scored his first goal for Thistle on Monday, 6th September, 1937, in a 5-1 win away to Queen's Park in the Glasgow Cup. He scored the last of his 6 goals on Saturday, 30th October, 1937, in a 2-1 win at home to Falkirk in the SFL First Division. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 6th November, 1937, in a 6-0 defeat away to Celtic in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 15 occasions. His club-list included Markinch Victoria, Dunnikier, Crossgates Primrose, Partick Thistle, Huddersfield Town, Bradford Park Avenue and East Fife. Edwin died on Monday, 12th June, 1944, off the coast of Spain, aged 30.

Edwin Watson's Summary Totals

League	11	4	3	4	5
Competitive	14	5	4	5	6
All Games	15	5	4	6	6

Bio Extra

Edwin, a Fifer, played for the Jags on 14 occasions, scoring 6 goals, in all competitions. He moved on to Huddersfield Town in January 1938, where he played for them on 6 occasions in the 1937-38 season. His maiden 1st team match was in a 3-0 defeat at home to Leeds United in the English Division 1, the top league of the period. Two matches followed in the FA Cup, a 0-0 draw followed by a 2-1 victory over York City in the 6th Round, with Edwin scoring the 1st goal in the replay. A League defeat followed against Charlton, but this was followed by what must be his highlight at the club, a 3-1 victory against Sunderland in the FA Cup Semi-Final. Unfortunately he didn’t play in the Final. His final match was a 2-1 League defeat against Liverpool. After a season in the reserves he moved to Bradford Park Avenue, and played a single match there before war intervened, although he did play 3 times in the Regional League set up in the 1939-40 season. On occasion during the war, he played for his local team, East Fife. Pre-war Edwin lived in Methil. Both he and his brother, Alex, signed up for the war, Alex in the 8th Army. Prior to joining the RAF, Edwin worked in the National Steel Foundry in Leven. When war came, Edwin joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve, and joined 201 Squadron in RAF Coastal Command. He was an air gunner on a Short Sunderland III, conducting anti-submarine sweeps from RAF Pembroke Dock over the Bay of Biscay. An article on his service life in a Fife newspaper described his life on the station, setting out his duties and giving a little insight into the man himself: “He mixes cooking with engineering and air gunnery. Bacon was sizzling in the pan, eggs awaiting cooking. Suddenly the penetrating screech of the klaxon horn rising above the drone of the engines sounded 'action stations'.” The only casualty was an egg as Edwin explained: I put it down in such a hurry that it rolled onto the galley floor and to make matter worse I trod on it! Six years of big time football never gave me the thrill that U-Boat did. Perhaps it was that I had to wait so long to see some action. You see I completed a tour in West African waters without spotting so much as a periscope wake, and I’ve knocked a few in hours of this tour. By the time I reached the gun. Jerry was plainly visible, and, holding my fire until I got within range, I let him have it. The Flight Sergeant who was on the guns in the nose added to the confusion in the conning tower, and when we went over the submarine her guns were unmanned and sailors could be seen crouching as they tried to shield themselves from our cannon shells and bullets. On 7 June 1944, Watson's Sunderland located a U-955 off Cape Ortegal, Spain, and sunk it with depth charges, killing all 50 crew on board the U-boat. Five days later, on 12 June 1944, the Sunderland encountered U-333, and conducted depth charge raids on it. The Sunderland is thought to have been shot down by flak from the submarine's anti-aircraft guns during the attack, killing all 12 crew members on board, including Edwin. His body was not recovered from the wreckage. He is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial. Edwin was a Member of his local Masonic Lodge in Fife. The Lodge members were unaware of Edwin’s loss in action until they were contacted by Edwin’s family in Canada during 2012. The Lodge subsequently commissioned a plaque in the player’s memory. Edwin was survived by his wife and two children, the youngest born eight months after he was killed. We commemorate his life in our feature piece, The Partick Thistle Fallen →.

(DMAC/JK/WIK)

Every Game

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(age) 1936-37

1. (22y, 10m, 15d) #9 Mon-12-Apr-1937 [a] D2-2 Dundee (SFL First Division - game 37)

2. (22y, 10m, 30d) #9 Tue-27-Apr-1937 [a] L0-5 Southend United (Friendly)

(age) 1937-38

3. (23y, 3m, 9d) #9 Mon-06-Sep-1937 [a] W5-1 Queen's Park (Glasgow Cup Quarter Final replay)

4. (23y, 3m, 14d) #9 Sat-11-Sep-1937 [a] D1-1 Clyde (SFL First Division - game 6)

5. (23y, 3m, 18d) #9 Wed-15-Sep-1937 [a] W3-1 Kilmarnock (SFL First Division - game 7)

6. (23y, 3m, 21d) #9 Sat-18-Sep-1937 [h] L1-3 Morton (SFL First Division - game 8)

7. (23y, 3m, 28d) #9 Sat-25-Sep-1937 [a] L0-3 Heart of Midlothian (SFL First Division - game 9)

8. (23y, 3m, 30d) #9 Mon-27-Sep-1937 [h] D0-0 Third Lanark (Glasgow Cup Semi Final)

9. (23y, 4m, 1d) #9 Wed-29-Sep-1937 [a] L0-5 Third Lanark (Glasgow Cup Semi Final replay)

10. (23y, 4m, 4d) #9 Sat-02-Oct-1937 [h] W3-2 Queen's Park (SFL First Division - game 10)

11. (23y, 4m, 11d) #9 Sat-09-Oct-1937 [a] D0-0 Queen of the South (SFL First Division - game 11)

12. (23y, 4m, 18d) #9 Sat-16-Oct-1937 [h] W4-1 Clyde (SFL First Division - game 12)

13. (23y, 4m, 25d) #9 Sat-23-Oct-1937 [a] L3-5 Dundee (SFL First Division - game 13)

14. (23y, 5m, 2d) #9 Sat-30-Oct-1937 [h] W2-1 Falkirk (SFL First Division - game 14)

15. (23y, 5m, 9d) #9 Sat-06-Nov-1937 [a] L0-6 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 15)

Every Goal

compiled from our All Games criteria.

23y, 3m, 9d		06.09.1937 Queen's Park [a] W5-1 (Glasgow Cup Quarter Final replay)
23y, 3m, 18d		15.09.1937 Kilmarnock [a] W3-1 (SFL First Division - game 7)
23y, 4m, 4d		02.10.1937 Queen's Park [h] W3-2 (SFL First Division - game 10)
23y, 4m, 18d		16.10.1937 Clyde [h] W4-1 (SFL First Division - game 12)
23y, 4m, 25d		23.10.1937 Dundee [a] L3-5 (SFL First Division - game 13)
23y, 5m, 2d		30.10.1937 Falkirk [h] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 14)

Gallery

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• Edwin Watson at Hudderfield, 1938. (HUFC)

• Edwin Watson at Hudderfield, 1938. (HUC)