Henry Ayton Watson died from illness on this day in 1915
Henry Ayton Watson was born on 11 February 1889 in Dulwich, London.
His parents were Thomas Ayton Watson, a butcher, and Elizabeth Jane née Glass.
In 1891, they were living at 214 Crystal Palace Road in Dulwich. Henry's widowed grandmother lived with them.
In 1901, they were living at 53 Barry Road in Dulwich. His father had now retired but they had a boarder with them and a live-in domestic servant.
Henry was educated at King's College, London.
In 1911, the family was living at the same address. Henry, now aged 22, was an Insurance Clerk. That same year, he joined the Mercantile Marine Service.
Early in 1915, his ship, H.M. Transport 'Queensland', was taken over by the Government to serve with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at the Dardanelles.
Henry served there and died of enteric fever, contracted on active service, on 20 August 1915 at No. 15 Stationary Hospital at Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos.
He was buried in East Mudros Military Cemetery
His Captain wrote to his parents stating that he was "well loved by all and was of a kind and genial disposition".
His father died in 1916 and, on 6 January 1917, his mother placed an 'In Memoriam' to them both on page one of the Daily Telegraph "Not gone from memory nor from love, but to our Father's home above. Ever missed".
Chief Steward Henry Ayton Watson, Mercantile Marine