Talk:Ray Watson (judge)

Raymond Sanders Watson, Kirrawee

There was a young Raymond Sanders Watson, a barrister in his 20s at Kirrawee who was a serial Liberal Party candidate at that time:

• "LIVERPOOL LIBERALS". The Biz. New South Wales, Australia. 19 May 1949. p. 6. Retrieved 7 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.

He's about the same age as the judge, but I'm not convinced they're the same person. No biographies of the judge mention any kind of political aspirations beyond reforming the family law. --122.108.141.214 (talk) 23:31, 6 April 2017 (UTC)

@Frickeg:, @220 of Borg:, @Canley:, thoughts? --122.108.141.214 (talk) 23:50, 6 April 2017 (UTC)

The article on Trove about the candidate mentions service in the RAN, so I checked the WW2 Nominal Roll, and the entry for Raymond Sanders Watson has exactly the same birth date as for the judge (24 December 1922), so I think it's pretty likely it's the same person. --Canley (talk) 00:44, 7 April 2017 (UTC)

This article about Neville Wran mentions "Ray Watson, the endorsed Liberal candidate for the federal seat of Werriwa, who subsequently became a Family Court judge". --Canley (talk) 01:12, 7 April 2017 (UTC)

Thanks, @Canley:. How can we be sure R.S. Watson, barrister, of Kirrawee and the judge are the same person, barring that barristers go on to become judges in general, and the odds of two men sharing a name, birthday and general occupation seem unlikely? Can we add Trove sources about his life in Kirrawee (which show his political aspirations) to this article? Is it WP:OR to do that? I've found a source on the judge from the Family Law Review which I've added to the article, (in an effort to triangulate sources) but it doesn't mention his serial candidacy or early adulthood in enough detail to prove anything beyond that he was born in Penrith and attended Penrith High (or more likely, a precursor to modern-day Penrith High). I suppose he could have moved east to Kirrawee and paid top dollar for a house there, but that's just speculation. --122.108.141.214 (talk) 01:50, 7 April 2017 (UTC)

Speaking of his birth place, I should note that the WW2 Nominal Roll says he was born in Willoughby, not Penrith, and they are over 60 km apart. --Canley (talk) 03:23, 7 April 2017 (UTC)

There are several articles when he was a candidate in 1946 which indicate he was living in Austinmer: [1], [2] and was having trouble finding somewhere to live having just returned from the war. --Canley (talk) 03:29, 7 April 2017 (UTC)

The FLR obituary is quite clear that the judge was born in Penrith. :( Not sure how to reconcile these two accounts. The first time the candidate campaigned, in 1946 at Austinmer, he would have been 23 (with wife and son) - the source I cited above is from when he was 26, steadily employed, and had two children at Kirrawee. Maybe a lot changed for him in those three years? --122.108.141.214 (talk) 03:41, 7 April 2017 (UTC)

I'm satisfied with the Neville Wran article to establish the link that the Family Court judge and the (mid-1940s) Werriwa Liberal candidate are the same person—these are very specific fields. That the full names, birth dates, legal careers and navy service also match pretty much put it beyond doubt for me. The discrepancy with the birth place could be where someone was technically born in a hospital in one suburb but raised somewhere else? The SMH obit hedges it by just saying "born in Sydney"! --Canley (talk) 06:27, 7 April 2017 (UTC)