Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Arriness was born as Aranus Herbert WATSON on 10th November, 1868 in Hobart Tasmania

His parents were Joseph William WATSON and Mary GANT who married on 23rd January, 1847 in Hobart, Tasmania

Arriness married Florence De ROCHE on 27th August, 1898 in Brisbane and had 9 known children

He enlisted in Toowoomba , Queensland on 30th October, 1915 and embarked from Sydney with the 42nd Infantry Battalion on the HMAT Borda on 5th June, 1916

He died from Influenza on Christmas Day, 25th December, 1916 at the 8th Stationary Hospital in Wimereux, France and is buried in Wimereux Communal Cemetery - his name is memorialised on the Australian War Memorial - he was awarded the British War Medal & the Victory Medal.

His son Alexander Norman WATSON (SN3454) 15th Battalion also served in WW1 and returned to Australia

Another son Alfred WATSON (SN92) 5th Light Horse was Killed in Action on 4th July, 1918

Another son Robert Stanley WATSON (Q129147) served in WW2 with the 17 APSC.

# 742 WATSON Arriness Herbert                                                       42nd Battalion
 
Arriness Watson was born in Hobart, Tasmania around 1868. By the 1890s, Arriness was living in Brisbane where he married his wife, Florence. The couple had at least nine children. Arriness had had a number of occupations during his life. Florence stated on her husband’s Roll of Honour Circular that he had served as a Naval Seaman. It is difficult to determine the strength of this statement. She also stated he worked as a chemist which was probably his occupation in Brisbane. Sometime in the 1900s, the family relocated to Pierce’s Creek near Crows Nest outside Toowoomba where Arriness worked as a farmer and timber getter.
 
Arriness attended the Darling Downs Recruiting Depot in Toowoomba on 30th October 1915. He was the third member of the family to enlist after sons Alfred (September 1914) and Alexander (July 1915). Arriness informed the recruiting officer that he had 5 children under the age of 16 living at home with his wife at the family farm; “Virginia” via Crows Nest. Arriness advised the recruiting officer he was 44 years and 11 months old. The upper limit for enlistment into the AIF at the time was 45 years and it is certain that Arriness lied about his age to ensure his acceptance into the army.
 
Arriness proceeded to Thompson’s Paddock Camp at Enoggera where he was taken on by the 42nd Battalion. The 42ndwas being raised and trained as part of the 11th Brigade of the 3rd Division AIF. The 3rd Division, unlike the other divisions in the AIF was not built around a core of Gallipoli veterans, but rather was assembled in England from enlistments directly from Australia. The 42nd Battalion travelled to Sydney by train where the battalion embarked on the “Borda” on 5th June 1916. The embarkation roll shows that Arriness had allocated 3/- of his daily pay of 5/- to his wife and children. Florence was also receiving allocations from her two eldest sons, Alf and Alex.
 
The 42nd, upon disembarkation in Plymouth, made its way to Larkhill on Salisbury Plain where the 3rd Division was being assembled under the command of Major General John Monash. Monash’s aim was to ensure that when his division joined the other four divisions of the AIF on the Western Front, they would be the best trained and equipped in the force. The division began its deployment to the Western Front on 25th November 1916, just as winter was starting to have an effect on troops exposed to the elements.
 
On 18th December, Arriness reported sick to the 9th Field Ambulance. The file shows NYD, Not Yet Diagnosed. He was moved on to the 2nd Casualty Clearing Station and from there was admitted to the 8th Australian Stationary Hospital at Wimereux where Arriness was diagnosed as suffering from influenza. He died of the effects of influenza on Christmas Day and was buried in the Wimereux Communal Cemetery.
 
With her husband now dead and two sons still on active service, Florence was struggling to deal with the family and the farm. In September 1917, Florence wrote to the authorities requesting that her eldest son, Alexander, be allowed to return home. Such requests were not uncommon but the authorities were slow to act. Alex returned to Australia a year later, with a gun shot wound in his left arm. By that time, son Alfred had been killed at Hamel in July 1918.
 
When permanent headstones were being erected by the Imperial War Graves Commission, Florence chose the following inscription: IN MEMORY OF THE DEARLY LOVED HUSBAND OF MRS A.H. WATSON OF CROWS NEST. Wimereux Cemetery is situated on coastal sand dunes and the headstones lie flat on the sandy ground rather than the traditional vertical alignment which the ground would not support.
 
Arriness’s age, he was 48 when he died, was undoubtedly a contributing factor in his death. The Western Front was no place for a middle aged infantryman.