Walter Oswald Watt was born on the 11th of February 1878 in Bournemouth, England. After having emigrated to Australia he had a professional career as a merchant and grazier of Sydney prior to his military career. Watt had begun flying in England in 1911 at the age of 33 and in 1913 he spent several months in Egypt flying a Bleriot aeroplane and from May of 1914 until the outbreak of war he flew his Bleriot from Bleriot's own aerodrome at Buc, in France. When war broke out Watt believed, as did many others, that Britain would remain neutral, and he joined the Aviation Militaire section of the Foreign Legion as a "soldat de deuxieme" which was equivalent to a third class mechanic. http://www.camriley.com/2002_1999/afc_feature_watt_bio.htm
Thanks for this Annie; I hadn't come across this AFC site before; I've added it to Favourites. Ozzie Watt sounds a great character. There was an article on 2 sqdn AFC during their DH5 period in "Cross and Cockade" recently, but Watts was only mentioned briefly, with biographical information.
He was quite a guy alright !! and that site has lots to keep you occupied !! I've been trying to find a picture of the Oswald Watt Medal ...... there's a list of everybody who was awarded it .... ( on several sites ) but I can't find a picture of the actual medal !! Annie
Hi Andrew and welcome !! Thank you very much for the picture of the medal ... that's quite impressive ..... ! Do you collect medals ? Annie
Hi Annie, No I don't collect medals, I used to help Cam with stuff on his website and had that photo tucked away on my computer. I don't know where it came from. I am actually researching Australians who served with the RNAS during the Great War and hope to have a book published by ANZAC Day 2010. Regards, Andrew.
Yes ... I've noticed a few of your posts on other sites !! give a shout if we can help with anything ... glad to help ! I suppose you already know all about Stan/Jimmy Gobel Andrew ? ... GOBLE, STANLEY JAMES was born on 21 August 1891 at Croydon, Victoria, son of George Albert William Goble, a Victorian-born stationmaster, and his wife Ann Elizabeth, née Walton, from England. At 16 he joined the transportation branch of the Victorian Railways and by 1914 was working as a relieving stationmaster. On the outbreak of war he tried to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force but was twice rejected on minor medical grounds. Determined, however, to follow his three brothers into active service, he paid his own passage to England. On 13 July 1915 he was accepted as a trainee airman with the rank of temporary flight sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Air Service. After training at Chingford Air Station, Essex, he was confirmed in rank on 20 October and posted to Dover Air Station where he was employed in test-flying new aircraft and in carrying out brief anti-submarine patrols over the English Channel. He was then moved to the Royal Naval Air Service Base at Dunkirk from which he flew the single-seater Sopwith Pup. From Dunkirk he shot down a German L.V.G. two-seater in September 1916. The battle of the Somme in 1916 led to the formation, with the most experienced pilots available, of No.8 Squadron, R.N.A.S. Goble, a foundation member, flew the Pup and the French Nieuport fighter, combating not only German aircraft but the appalling westerly gales which blew throughout most of the battle. On 1 October he was promoted flight lieutenant and later that month was awarded the Croix de Guerre, and won the Distinguished Service Cross for attacking two enemy aircraft near Ghistelles, France, bringing one down in flames. On 1 February 1917 Goble was posted to No.5 Squadron, R.N.A.S., which, newly equipped with the D.H.4 day and night bomber, was operating from Petite Synthe, France. He was appointed acting flight commander and on 17 February was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for 'conspicuous bravery and skill in attacking hostile aircraft on numerous occasions'. On 30 June his appointment as flight commander was confirmed and from July he was acting squadron commander; this rank became substantive on 1 January 1918. The potentially difficult transition from flying single-seater fighter sorties to leading two-seater bombing raids was carried out successfully. With No.5 Squadron Goble planned and led, in the first instance, attacks mainly aimed at German naval targets and aerodromes. When General Ludendorff launched his offensive in March 1918, Goble's squadron was committed in front of General Gough's Fifth Army and its targets shifted to bridges, railway sidings and columns of advancing enemy infantry. Such objectives were attacked from heights of between 15,000 feet (4572 m) and 800 feet (244 m) in the face of intense German land and air opposition. The rapid German advance once brought Goble's aerodrome under shell-fire from medium-range artillery and he was forced to conduct a hurried evacuation. When the R.N.A.S. lost its separate identity on 1 April 1918 and merged with the Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force, Goble was appointed major in the new service. He returned with his squadron to England on 15 May. He was appointed M.B.E. in 1917, O.B.E. in 1918 and was twice mentioned in dispatches. http://books.google.com/books?id=K5...o4WoCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1 http://www.defence.gov.au/news/raafnews/editions/4504/history/story02.htm
Hi Annie, I am aware of Jimmy, Gareth and I are both members of the Australian Society of WW1 Aero Historians and Jimmy's son John is the Vice President. John had a distinguished career in the RAN. I have nearly 200 names of Australians who servd in the RNAS. If you know of a friendly publisher I would love to hear from them. Andrew.
Hi Annie, I have jst receivd a bundle of letters Watt wrote to his family from the AWM. His nickname wasn't "Ossie" but "Toby". I don't know why he was dubbed "Toby". Regards, Andrew
Oh my !! - that's different !! ......... Maybe because he came from England and he looked like a "toby jug " !!!!!!!!!!! Or of course - it could have just been a "man thing " !! Annie
So have you had time yet to read the letters Andrew ... were they all you hoped they would be ? What kind of a man did he seem to be ? Annie
G'day Annie, Most were letters to his sister. They gave no clue to why he was nicknamed "Toby". He seems to be vey much a family man from his letters, but one must remember he was quite a bit older than his pilots and would have seen a lot more of life than most of them. He was loyal to his men and the fact that he set up a defacto repatriation office at his business postwar to help his men back into civilian life shows the devotion he had to his men. Regards, Andrew.
