 His contributions earned him recognition and he began teaching a popular course on fractions at Liverpool University in 1936, which prompted him to work on a textbook; "Fractures and Joint Injuries", which appeared in 1940, was reprinted and translated many times and called a "masterpiece".Its clear and accessible language meant that it became a valued guidebook to field surgeons in World War II.In 1937 Watson changed his surname to 'Watson-Jones' but kept 'Watson' as a separate middle name to distinguish himself from many of the other people called Jones in Liverpool.