He won a scholarship to Liverpool College, then became a Solicitor's Clerk, but abandoned the legal profession for cycle racing and manufacture.

He then imported De Dion-Bouton petrol engines to make powered tricycles, and by 1900 was producing and selling the two-seater "W & D Quad".

In 1901 he founded W Watson & Co, cycle and motor car manufacturers, and acquired additional premises in Vine Street, Liverpool.

[1][2] In 1901 he set up a Chester-to-Farndon public hire service, after successfully applying for a Hackney Carriage licence for a motor vehicle, the first in Chester and one of the earliest in the country.

[3][4] In 1902 Watson started importing French cars, initially 10 and 12 hp Georges Richard models, by taking the train to Paris and driving them to Dieppe for shipment to Liverpool.

He entered the 1907 Scottish Reliability Trial, winning a gold medal on the 40 hp Berliet, averaging 22 mpg fuel consumption.

The event, for more than a hundred cars, covered over 1000 miles and took a week of timetabled driving, accompanied by a different observer every day, with a daily hill climb.

[7] In August 1908 Watson bought from Selwyn Edge his 1907-built four cylinder racing car known as Little Dorrit, after being impressed by its performance at the newly constructed Brooklands track.

Hutton, a young motor dealer, had been allowed to form a separate company to run the four cylinder Napier-made cars.

In the 1912 French Grand Prix/Coupe de l'Auto race at Dieppe on 25 June, Watson's A-type Vauxhall, in the 3-litre class, was forced to retire in the second lap with a broken gudgeon pin.

Mechanical failure again caused Watson to retire, this time with a broken crankshaft, on the first lap of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy in 1914.

At Liverpool Motor Club's first speed trials at Colwyn Bay on 5 July 1913, Watson achieved the fastest time in both the standing kilometre and the flying half-mile, averaging 64 mph, on a 20 hp Vauxhall.

Watson became one of the first Rolls-Royce agents in 1908, having tested a Silver Ghost the previous year, been impressed by its quietness and performance and having immediately applied for the franchise.

During World War I, the Watson workshops manufactured shell cases, shrapnel noses, aeroplane propellers and fuselages.

One large stationary engine provided the power through a series of belts and pulleys for some fifteen lathes, grinders, shapers and various other machines in the workshop.

A staff consisting of management, reception, mechanics and apprentices numbering in the fifties made the ground floor a hive of activity.

A technological breakthrough was made in the early 60s when it was discovered that the removal of the mini's engine was far easier and more time efficient if it was extricated through the bonnet opening rather than lifting the entire body over the power unit and suspension assembly.

This unwanted union was to end when a new facility was built that would house the Rolls, Electrical and Lubrication departments as W. Watson saw greater expansion on Oldham Street.

Although changes came, BMC becoming British Leyland and a flurry of new service managers over the years, the commitment to training was always held in the highest regard.

[21] To celebrate the centenary of the race in 2008, the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain organised an exhibition at their Ashwell, Hertfordshire, headquarters on the history of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, 1905 to 1922.

The club rally was timed so that the veteran cars reached Ashwell at 3 pm on 24 September; exactly 100 years after Watson crossed the finishing line.