Sydney Rigby Wason

Lieutenant General Sydney Rigby Wason , and Bar (27 September 1887 – 17 March 1969) was a senior British Army officer in the Second World War. His commands included a corps during the Battle of France and the anti-aircraft defences of Southern England and Wales during the Blitz. Early life and family Born on 27 September 1887 at Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire, Scotland, Sydney Rigby Wason was the son of James Wason, a solicitor, and Wilhelmina Margarita, née Nixon. He married Winifred Mary at Chelsea in 1921. The cognitive psychologist, Peter Cathcart Wason was his second cousin. Military career Wason studied at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in July 1907. During the First World War as a captain and acting major in the Royal Artillery, he was awarded the Military Cross three times, twice for leading a raid into enemy lines and for observation while under fire. He was first awarded the Military Cross on 2 February 1916, before receiving a first medal bar on 26 September 1917, and a second bar on 17 December 1917.