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My copies of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories of Sherlock Holmes speak of Doctor Watson rather than GP Watson.

Is this a Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone situation where someone published an Americanized edition and that's what I have?

No, I think it's because GP is a newish term.

There’s a difference between “being a doctor” and “Dr Watson”. Nobody would ever say an academic is “a doctor”.