James Morton Watson was born in Ross's Creek, VIC and was a Labourer in Ballarat when he enlisted in the 7th Battalion, 7th Reinforcement on 4 May 1915 at the age of 27. His unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A64 Demosthenes on 16 July 1915. and by mid-September he had joined the 7th Battalion at Gallipoli. He served there until the general evacuation in December when he was withdrawn to Mudros then to Egypt. In March 1916 he was transferred to the 14th Battalion but in April he was disciplined for disobeying an order given by an NCO and for insolence. In January 1917 he transferred to the 4th Machine Gun Company in France and safely served until the war's end. While on leave in England, on March 25th 1918 he married 24 year old Florence Stianson at the St. John of Wapping Parish Church in London. He returned to Australia on the Balmoral Castle and disembarked at Melbourne on April 13th 1919.
Tree No. 1396