Watson, Arnold Henfrey, 1882-1960 (Person)

SummaryFarmer at Pongakawa, First World War combatant with the 19th Mounted Reinforcements and then the 15th NZ Company of the Imperial Camel Corps, artist.

All his life Arnold Henfrey Watson was interested in drawing, painting and natural history.

In March 1916, as a farmer at Pongakawa, he took a trip to the recruiting office in Rotorua to join up. From the 19th Mounted Reinforcements, he was drafted into the 15th New Zealand Company of the Imperial Camel Corps, where he remained until it was disbanded in mid-1918.

Towards the end of the war, he was co-opted by Lt-Col. James McCarroll, commanding officer of the Auckland Mounted Rifles, as a semi-official war artist. Throughout the last year of conflict and the more relaxed time after the Armistice in November 1918, he had enough free time to sketch the native wildlife of Palestine and Egypt. He filled the spare spaces in his diaries with tiny, carefully-observed drawings of plants and insects, some in full colour. He also had cartoons published in the ‘Kia Ora Coo-ee’, the magazine produced in Cairo for ANZAC troops in the Middle East.

After the war Arnold returned to his farming life with great relief. He married Christine Vingoe from Ōtūmoetai and they had two children. He later retired to Mount Maunganui, living in a house on Maunganui Road and swimming every morning. He died in 1960
SourcesOnline Cenotaph

Photographs

Arnold Henfrey Watson on camel c. 1917

Arnold Henfrey Watson 1916

Archive Collections

The Natural History illustrations of Arnold Henfrey Watson

Diaries of Arnold Henfrey Watson

Stories - People

Arnold Henfrey Watson (1882-1960)

Arnold Henfrey Watson, Image 11-100 (cropped)

Usage

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Personal Information

First Name(s)Arnold HenfreySurnameWatson Date of Birth1 April 1882Date of Death21 January 1960OccupationFarmerSoldier

Whānau

Mother?, Agatha AletheaFatherWatson, Francis Edward

Military Service

ConflictWorld War, 1914-1918

Admin

AuthorTauranga City Libraries - Harley CouperType of ContributionLibrary authorityTaxonomyStories | People

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Watson, Arnold Henfrey, 1882-1960 (Person)