James Carmichael Watson was born in 1910, and was the youngest son of W. J. Watson (1865-1948), Rector of the Royal High School, Edinburgh, and later Professor of Celtic at Edinburgh University, 1914-1938, and was the grandson of Alexander Carmichael (1832-1912), the eminent Gaelic scholar and editor of Carmina Gadelica . The younger Watson was educated at the Royal High School and showed proficiency in classical studies. He then studied at Edinburgh University and was awarded the degree of M.A. in 1932 with a First in Classics. He went on to achieve a First in Celtic in 1934. He spent time travelling in Phrygia studying the Galatian civilisation followed with postgraduate study in Bonn, Germany. Watson then became a lecturer in Celtic at Glasgow University, and succeeded his father as Professor of Celtic at Edinburgh University in 1938. His publications include The Gaelic songs of Mary MacLeod, Mesca Ulad, the Lament of Cathal MacMuireadhaigh for Iain Mor Macleod, and two additional volumes of Carmina Gadelica . Professor James Carmichael Watson - Ordinary Seaman - was reported missing presumed killed in April 1942 while serving with the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean.
From the guide to the Correspondence of Professor James Carmichael Watson (1910-1942), 1935-1941, (Edinburgh University Library)
