The Watt Family - Give and Take

When  you marry and have children, you give them your time, and they take it.

So it is in most families, and well it should be. As the years go by and they mature and you age and perhaps decline, sometimes the help goes the other way – as it did with Madge Watt and her sons.

Madge and Alfred had two sons Robin and Sholto. Each of them gave support to their mother's efforts on behalf of women around the world. When their father Alfred died in 1913, Madge took them to England where they were educated and charted their life patterns.

Henry Robertson Watt - know as “Robin” - applied to and was accepted at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. Robin focused on gaining a commission in the Green Howards Regiment. He did so. He saw action, was wounded and after recovering  became an Aide de Camp to Canadian General Sir Arthur Currie. By the end of the war, he had received the Military Cross and clasp from Great Britain and the Croix de Guerre from France. Captain Robin Watt left the British Army in 1920.

Robin had an artistic bent, and he nurtured that by attending classes at the Slade School of Art in England. He earned  his living through his art. Robin's most famous painting was titled Golden Girl and his model was his wife, Doreen, known as Dodie. His greatest gift to his mother was the designing of the badge for the Associated Country Women of the World

Hugh Sholto Watt, known as “Sholto”, was a sickly baby, and his health was an issue throughout his life. His early education was by sharing a tutor with a neighbouring family. He had a very successful career as a journalist working for London newspapers and returned to Canada before the Second World War began. Then he was jointly employed by the Montreal Star and the London Daily Telegraph as a war correspondent reporting from war theatres in Europe and Africa. After the end of the war he returned to Canada where he worked as a feature writer for the Standard in Montreal; he also researched and wrote a book about the launch of the Atlantic air ferry in World War Two.

Sholto's assistance to Madge came in the field of journalism. He assisted her in establishing the Countrywoman magazine, and serving for a number of years as it's editor. Also, in the 1930's a series of books “What Country Women Are Doing” were printed under his editorship, and were very successful.

Both her sons assisted Madge as and when they could – they must have been proud of their mother for all she accomplished in her life. As for Madge, she was blessed with two talented and appreciative sons.

So, in this month of November, let us remember not only the servicemen and women,  the medical personnel who worked at, or close to the front lines,  the citizens of many countries and others who lost their lives in wars, either as combatants or as innocent by standers who were unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But let us also remember, and give thanks to the wonderful members of the generation who followed us  and have willingly given generously of their time and talents to help us, and perhaps many others some where along the way.

Ruth Fenner, Provincial Historian, British Columbia Women's Institute