Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt - Brechin, Angus.
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creg-ny-baa
N 56° 43.932 W 002° 39.226
30V E 521183 N 6287629
Lifesize bronze statue of Robert Watson-Watt, the pioneer of radar, at St.Ninian Square in his home town of Brechin in Scotland.
Waymark Code: WMZAC6
Location: Northern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/08/2018
Views: 2
Robert Alexander Watson Watt was born at 5 Union Street in Brechin in the then county of Forfarshire, now Angus, on April 13th 1892. He was one of three sons of Patrick Watson Watt, a joiner by trade, and Mary Ann Small Matthew.
He attended University College in Dundee with a degree in electrical engineering where he developed an interest in radio waves. He became a meteorologist at the Royal Aircraft Factory in Farnborough and Radio Research Station in Slough and studied cathode ray oscilloscopes in radio research. In the late 1930s, he led a team of scientists, engineers and service personnel to develop a system to detect aircraft by radio methods. This was used in the Battle of Britain.
He was knighted in 1942 and around this time hyphenated his name. He was also awarded the US Medal for Merit. He died in Inverness on December 5th 1973 and is buried in the grounds of the Holy Trinity Church in Pitlochry.
The Robert Watson-Watt Society of Brechin campaigned for a memorial to commemorate his life and work and a bronze by Alan Beattie Herriot was unveiled in Brechin by HRH the Princess Royal on September 3rd 2014.
The statue is situated in the town's St.Ninian Square near the public library. It stands on the north-eastern corner of the square and features a life-size figure on top of a large base. He is depicted holding a spitfire in one hand and a radar tower in the other.