Arthur Watts (illustrator)

Arthur Watts
Born	28 April 1883 Rochester, Kent, England
Died	20 July 1935 Pian San Giacomo, Graubünden, Switzerland
Spouse(s)	Phyllis Sachs (first), Margerie Dawson Scott (second)-1935 (his death)
Children	Margaret Marjorie Ann Simon Julyan
Website	The Art of Arthur Watts

Arthur George Watts DSO (1883–1935) was an illustrator and artist who was killed in an airplane crash in the Swiss Alps.

Watts was born in Rochester, Kent in 1883 the son of Joseph Watts, Deputy Surgeon-General in the Indian Medical Service Indian Army and his wife Alice. His father retired early and the family lived in Dulwich and Norwood in south-east London where the family usually employed a resident cook, housemaid and a nurse while the children were young.

Educated at Dulwich College Watts was a talented artist from an early age and inked funny drawings in the margins of his school books, at Crystal Palace Poster Academy he was awarded a silver medal for merit in 1901. From the age of 17 he was educated at the Slade School of Fine Art from where he went to the Free Arts Schools in Antwerp and then Paris, Moscow and Madrid. He was reportedly one of the London arts schools crowd who holidayed regularly in St Ives, Cornwall during the Edwardian period.

Watts served in World War I in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve attaining the rank of Commander and receiving the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery in the Zeebrugge Raid in 1918.

He received a temporary commission as sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in December 1914, and on 18 December 1915 he was promoted to temporary lieutenant. In command of motor launch ML.239 in April 1918 he played a distinguished part in the "combined operation" known as the Zeebrugge Raid, also participating in the operations at Ostendin May 1918 when HMS Vindictive was sunk to block the harbor entrance. Watts was awarded the Distinguished Service Order as an acting lieutenant-commander on 27 August 1918.

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