stations in German New Guinea at New Britain and New Ireland. After his discharge, back in Sydney Watson enlisted as a Gunner in the 1st Divisional Artillery in March 1915. His unit embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A35 Berrima in June 1915. A letter home from his Wallaby team-mate Clarrie Wallach says that Watson saw action at Gallipoli. He landed there in August and joined the 1st Field Artillery Brigade. Evacuated from Gallipoli via Egypt his unit was transferred to the Western Front in March 1916 and soon promoted to Sergeant. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in September 1917. In action on the Western Front he was in November 1917 awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for "gallantry and coolness in going to the assistance of wounded men under heavy fire" and shortly thereafter was promoted to full Lieutenant. In May 1919 he was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry as forward Observation Officer at Faucoucourt on 27 August 1918 – "in one case he worked his way forward several hundred yards in front of [the] outposts, directing the fire of three batteries, which gave great assistance to the infantry by barraging machine gun nests and strong posts" Late in the war he would earn a bar to his MC for conspicuous gallantry displayed in heavy bombardment near Bellicourt on 2–3 October 1918 when although badly gassed, he tried to save the life of a wounded officer and stayed in command of his battery until withdrawn from the line. At war's end and during the long process of disembarking 250,000 Australian AIF troops from Europe, he was selected as captain of the AIF Rugby XV. The team represented the Australian Forces in the King's Cup rugby competition among the nations represented in the allied armies with teams representing the British, Canadian, New Zealand and South African armies as well as the RAF. The AIF XV played 16 matches winning 12 and featured a number of Wallaby representatives including Dan Carroll, Bill Cody and Dudley Suttor. After the competition the AIF XV played a number of games in South Africa and played eight games in Australia against national, New South Wales, Queensland and other regional sides. Watson played in five of the eight games, all as captain and Howell credits the tour with reviving rugby union in eastern Australia at a time when the game was in a weakened