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Georgia Archives Month 2024: Watson Hall

Georgia Archives Month is an opportunity to recognize Georgia’s rich history and to highlight the many ways historical records enrich our lives. Join us as we celebrate Special Collections at Georgia Southern University Libraries as a caretaker of history

Meeting Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

Newspaper clipping from April 14, 1946, showcasing Queen Mother Elizabeth’s visit to the United Kingdom Base WAC detachment. The Queen is pictured signing the WAC Pallas Athene insigne and base register alongside then Captain Georgia B. Watson.

Photograph of Lieutenant Georgia Watson of the 89th Coast Artillery Anti-Aircraft (CAA), taken March 1, 1943.

Georgia B. Watson enlisted in the Women's Army Corps during World War II, after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia Southern College. During the war, Watson earned the rank of Captain, having entered Officer Candidate School in August 1942. While serving, she participated in a classified antiaircraft experiment called "Battery X" led by General George Marshall before being reassigned to a unit in London. 

Watson Hall

George-Anne Media Group, (2020). Watson Hall

After the war, Watson was hired as faculty at Georgia Teachers College (now Georgia Southern University) in 1949, where she was instrumental in establishing the Psychology major. In 1952, she became the first woman to hold the rank of Professor at Georgia Southern.

Watson earned the title of Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Emeritus Head of the Psychology Department of Georgia Southern College upon her retirement.