William Martin Watt, civil engineer, was the son of Reverend Hugh George Watt and his wife Amelia ("Amy") Stanley, born Allan. In August 1904 he entered the civil service of the Cape Colony as assistant engineer in the Irrigation and Hydraulic Branch of the Public Works Department, where he remained until 1910. He was then appointed as agricultural engineer in the Department of Agriculture of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), a position in which he gave advice on private irrigation schemes during 1911 to 1914, when World War 1 (1914-1918) broke out.

Watt published an article on 'Thunderstorms and lightning conductors' in the Rhodesian Agricultural Journal (1912, Vol. 10, pp. 230-234). He also wrote a pamphlet on The dangers and prevention of soil erosion, published as Bulletin No. 300 of the Rhodesia Department of Agriculture (1913, 11 pp). He was married in 1905 to Louisa Helena Hayes, with whom he had a son and two daughters.

List of sources:

Bibliography of regional meteorological literature. Vol. 1. Southern Africa, 1486-1948 (Compiled by R.J. Venter). Pretoria: Weather Bureau, 1949.

Cape of Good Hope. Civil service list, 1906, 1910.

FamilySearch: William Martin Watt. https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/G4HN-LZW

National Union Catalogue, pre-1956 imprints. London: Mansell, 1968-1980.

Scott, H. Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae. The succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation. New ed. (Vol. 5, p. 339, Hugh George Watt). Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1925. Retrieved on 21 April 2021 from https://books.google.co.za/books?id=EAcWAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA339&lpg=PA339&dq=William Martin Watt fasti ecclesiae&source=bl&ots=ORaOEYprtU&sig=ACfU3U3FWjan1K7l8c3RGLkDVNB4r9RViQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNyPOsjo_wAhXL-6QKHWy1CSMQ6AEwEHoECAUQAw#v=onepage&q=William Martin Watt fasti ecclesiae&f=false

Southern Rhodesia. Report of the Director of Agriculture, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914.

Compiled by: C. Plug

Last updated: 2026-02-28 11:54:00