Major (Dr.) James Watt, a retired Salvation Army officer and physician from the Canada and Bermuda Territory, has received the Order of the Founder, The Salvation Army’s highest honour. Renowned for his medical work at Howard Hospital in Zimbabwe, where he faithfully served the underprivileged and established critical health-care infrastructure, Major Watt was presented with the award by General Lyndon Buckingham in a special ceremony in April. The presentation took place in Calgary during the visit of the General and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham, World President of Women’s Ministries, to the Canada and Bermuda Territory.

Major Watt graduated from the University of British Columbia Medical School in 1967. Sensing the call of God on his life for full-time ministry as a Salvation Army officer, he spent one year in the Toronto College for Officer Training, together with his wife, Major Bette Watt, before they were commissioned in 1970 with the rank of captain. Their first appointment took them to Howard Hospital in the then Rhodesia Territory in south-central Africa. 

Serving during a period of civil war and political unrest, Major Watt’s responsibilities at Howard Hospital included medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, psychiatry, infectious diseases, nurse’s training and community health.

“Due to the seven-year-long War of Independence, I was the only doctor there for half this time, starting mobile clinics on land-mined roads to serve the ‘protected villages’ (concentration camps),” he shared on the UBC Medical Alumni Association’s website when he received their Wallace Wilson Leadership Award in 2018. “With our excellent staff, we organized the first mass polio, diphtheria, tetanus and measles campaigns, helping to wipe out these diseases. We opposed torture and treated both sides in the conflict, resulting in threats of detention, expulsion and death.”

Major Watt was encouraged to leave the country as a safety precaution, but he refused and remained at the hospital to help those in need. Surviving several attempts on his life with the help of God, he worked with other missionary doctors to prepare Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) for the future of medical work after the civil war. Thanks to their efforts, a plan was put in place for rebuilding and restructuring, which gained government acceptance and was implemented on a national level.

Major Watt’s contributions to the health and well-being of the Zimbabwean people extended beyond the walls of Howard Hospital. In the early 1980s, he provided a “bush medicine” course as part of the required training of new doctors in Zimbabwe. His invention of the “tippy tap,” a device that can safely be used to thoroughly wash hands with only a few millilitres of water per usage, has impacted people around the world. As a result of the education and awareness brought about through Howard Hospital on the transmission of HIV and how to prevent it, a record 77-percent decrease in the prevalence of HIV-AIDS was achieved. And working together with Major Bette Watt and other churches and missions in Zimbabwe, he shared in ministry for the furthering of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the growth of the church.

“Major Watt carried out tremendous and far-reaching work, combining professional excellence with deep Christian commitment,” says Commissioner Daniel Kasuso, territorial commander in the Zimbabwe and Botswana (with Madagascar) Territory. “His dedication, creativity and love for the people he served left a lasting impact on The Salvation Army’s mission in the area.” 

Major Watt’s commitment to the field of medicine continued when he and his wife returned to Canada, where he served at The Salvation Army’s Calgary Children’s Village, and was part of the team that established the Calgary Urban Projects Society/CUPS Clinic, an HIV-AIDS clinic in downtown Calgary, where he served as The Salvation Army’s representative and first doctor. The Watts returned to Zimbabwe, first to support the work at The Salvation Army’s Tshelanyemba Hospital and then again at Howard Hospital. Majors Watt retired in 2000 in Calgary, where they attend Berkshire Citadel Community Church.

“We have been their corps officers for two years but have known them since they returned from the mission field,” says Envoy Bob McLeod, who leads Berkshire Citadel with his wife, Envoy Charmaine McLeod. “Major Watt is a very humble man who credits his wife with much of the teaching they did over the years.” Through Christmas pageant productions, adult Bible study, Sunday school, Christmas kettles and fundraising for mission projects in Zimbabwe through the sale of his original paintings, the Watts continued to support the mission of The Salvation Army in retirement.

Major Watt received the Legión de Honor Nacional de México in 1985 for his medical relief work after the earthquake in Mexico City, and the University of British Columbia’s Global Citizenship Award in 2021.

“To this day, Major Watt is fondly remembered at Howard Hospital. His name remains well known, and his contribution continues to be spoken of with great respect and gratitude,” says Commissioner Kasuso. “His service, together with that of Bette, stands as an outstanding example of selfless ministry, faithfulness and devotion to God’s work in Africa.”

The Order of the Founder was instituted by General Bramwell Booth in 1917 to mark “outstanding service rendered by officers and soldiers such as would in spirit or achievement have been specially commended by the Founder.”