George Kellett’s 1918 World War 1 Diary

At the beginning of 1918 George Kellett (left) a Wakefield soldier based in France, received a Christmas parcel which contained a Christmas cake, parkin, a few apples and a diary. George then recorded his year as a World War 1 soldier. His family donated his diary to Wakefield Museums.

The diary details George’s life as a soldier - letters from home, pay arrangements, games of draughts, getting ready for draft, working on a rifle range, digging trenches.

His diary entries include a reference to his watch:

18 March 1918

'...Went down to town tonight and five of us had our photo taken in a group.  Got my watch today which father sent me from home.  Wrote asking him to send me some money...'


Note George’s trench watch mentioned in his diary, on his left wrist in the image on the left:





From January 2014, Wakefield Museums will be publishing George’s Diary entries on 'Twitter'.  According to the museum, over the year, this will build up a picture of what his experience was.    By very kind courtesy of @WW1_Diary on Twitter and; http://www.wakefieldmuseumsandlibraries.blogspot.co.uk
​




Poppy Days... A Very Personal Meaning;
My Lovely Dad, 'Poppy', Remembered with Great Pride and Much Love.

Sadly, my Dad (who I called Poppy) passed away on 21 February 2016 at the age of 80. A generous, loving, and much loved
​Brother, Uncle, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, Husband, Father in law, Friend, and most of all, Father. 

         

Left; ​RAF Padgate, Warrington, Cheshire, England, where my Dad did the first part of his National Service.

​Dad did his National Service between 1953 - 1955 at RAF Padgate, RAF Odiham, and RAF Locking.  After his Service, Dad met our Mum Judith at 'Toc H' in Manchester.  Toc H is an international charity and membership movement that emerged from a soldiers' club in Poperinge, Belgium during World War I. It is an international movement instigated by the Reverend Philip Thomas Byard (Tubby) Clayton as a way to perpetuate the Fellowship developed in Talbot House, a soldiers’ club run by him in  Belgium from 1915-1918. According to the Toc H website, It is from the contemporary phonetic alphabet for TH (Talbot House) that Toc H takes its unique name.
​Mum and Dad married  in 1961, and Dad went on to become a
successful (and kind) bank manager in Cheshire, England.

Left; an image of Dad's RAF Locking blazer badge, displaying the distinctive Locking insignia.

​
He trained and worked with the signals, working on transmitters, receivers and de-coders.









​
To Poppy, Loved Forever, Never Forgotten.
​Cathy McAnespie


Please see the entries later in this archive relating to my paternal Grandfather
​

​

               WHISKY TANGO FOXTROT


We have been kindly contacted by the 2015 BroadwayWorld UK / West End Awards nominated actress Rebecca Crookshank, who amongst numerous other things, has been starring in her phenomenal stage play 'Whisky Tango Foxtrot', which begins touring the country again from Spring 2016.  Rebecca wished to honour and commemorate the memory of her Grandmother, who has sadly passed away, and celebrate her Grandfather within this archive​; Rebecca comments as follows; 


​'..., here is a picture of my Grandma and Grandad, Eileen and Eric. Grandma was from Donegal in Ireland, granddad from Glasgow. He was a Royal Marine and they met in Glasgow. He proposed 10 days later, a dreamy love match!...

[Grandma] had many dress watches and she would love it if she knew I still treasured her watch. When Grandad left the Royal Marines in the 70s he went to work in Saudi Arabia building swimming pools, he was away for a whole year at one time. Whilst serving as a royal Marine he engineered the tracks for snow vehicles, so it's thanks to him that military vehicles can manoeuvre on the snow!

My Dad was in the Royal Marines too in transport. He, like my Grandad, did a lot of great work with 42 Commando. When he wasn't in Norway, He used to take me along to the Open days, I loved the assault courses. Three generations!

​​Dad suggested joining the RAF as their food was the best according to him!'

Left; a family picture of Rebecca's lovely Grandmother, Eileen, with one of her dress watches displayed - kindly set by Rebecca to the eleventh hour to honour her family and all our heroes.

Rebecca did join the forces, the RAF, and parts of her many and varied experiences can be seen in her innovative stage play, so stay tuned!

Rebecca's play will be appearing at the Barbican Theatre in Plymouth, Devon in April 2016!




Please see Rebecca's other wonderful contribution to our archive in the Taking Time​ to remember our Heroes page.















Please also visit Rebecca's website at wtftheplay.co.uk​​

 
                                   Tales Of A 'Traveler' In Time And Space!
                                
We have been contacted by Mr Mark Bannan, who very kindly tells us of his Grandfather who owned a Waltham pocket watch and served during WW1. He also relates the story of his Father, who gifted him his Omega 'Moonwatch';

'Time for Remembrance

The 100 Year Timeline. 1916-2016
My Grandad Frank Bannan (26 May 1890-22 October 1978) served in WW1 from 19th April 1915 according to National Archives and other on -line records. It is one of my regrets that I never had the conversation with him that would have given me more information on his involvement in WW1 or how he came by the watch which this remembrance is about.

In the late 1960s or early 70s when I was in my teens my Grandad gifted me his 9 ct gold watch and chain, an American Waltham USA Traveler. The serial number 20890426 dates it to 1916/17 according to charts. The Dennison watch case stamped ALD 137747 was made by the company founded by Aaron Lufkin Dennison. The watch came with its original box from H&A Kimball of 182, Aldersgate Street, London EC. Established in 1868. The Waltham Traveler was apparently an economically priced model favoured by the export market in the early 20th century with large numbers being sent to the UK.

Some 40 years later my Dad (1924-2009) who was Grandad's middle child gifted me his 1978 Omega Speedmaster 'Moonwatch' and ever since I have been fascinated by watches and the connection they create to people and events through time. The Speedmaster of course was the first watch worn on the Moon and I was fortunate enough to  meet some of the Apollo astronauts, who like my Dad served in WW2 (HMS Foley) and ask them about the watch and the part it played in their missions - another story!

A project for 2016, the centenary of the Waltham watch, is to see what I can find out from family members about the watch, how my Grandad came by it and when. In the meantime I have managed to glean some basic information from records about his WW1 involvement.

WW1 and my Grandad
My Grandad served in the Royal Naval Air Service from 19th April 1915 to 31 December 1917 as a 1st Class Air Mechanic. HIs service number was F4045. The records take a bit of deciphering but I can see that he served on President 11 and later HMS Queen, with postings to Aberdeen, Eastern Mediterranean, Mudros and Otranto. President 11 was the accounting base for the RNAS although someone listed there could also have been on a ship too small to have its own paymaster. HMS Queen was re-fitted for service as a depot ship for the personnel of the Adriatic anti submarine net barrage patrol in the Strait of Otranto between December 1916 and February 1917 which is approximately when my watch was manufactured.
​
Mudros was a RNAS base near the Dardanelles in the Eastern Mediterranean on the Greek  island of Lemnos near Lesbos . After the Gallipoli campaign was called off in 1915 it remained the Allied base for the blockade of the Dardanelles for the duration of WW1. I know from my sister who learnt it from my Dad, that Grandad used to talk to him many times about his time in Mudros.

Grandad was discharged from the RNAS to the newly created RAF (1 April 1918) with a 20 prefixing his original service number.

He served with the RAF in Eastern Mediterranean and Display Centre at Crystal Palace in January 1919 before being transferred to RAF Reserves in February 1919 and then discharged on 30th April 1920. I can only imagine that as a young carpenter born in Bayswater and living in Hammersmith, the experience of being sent to these far flung places must have been terrifying and exciting in the same measure. I have written this remembrance as a tribute to my Grandad and many others like him plucked from ordinary lives to serve their country.




For future generations lest they should forget
​
Unfortunately I have no photos of Grandad from WW1 but there are two family photos taken in the late 1920s or early 30s which show him wearing a watch chain across his waistcoat [see image above] with either the watch or most likely a fob or charm (gold coin?) 

I still have a 1902 half sovereign which he gave me at around the same time. How the world must have changed for him since that coin was minted. After that I have no more memories relating to Grandad and his watch other than the moment he gave it to me. But I feel proud and honoured today to have been the one he chose to gift it to and so create a 100 year time line to be continued for future generations.
​
Thank you for reading this tribute and god bless to Grandad and my Dad.'

Many thanks to Mark for this fascinating and moving commemoration. Please see below for his latest contribution to our site. ​                                                                              

                                             Time and Tide


This intriguing story and images have been kindly provided by author Sarah Reay. She is the Grand-daughter of a true hero, Army Chaplain, the Rev. Herbert Butler Cowl C.F. M.C

Sarah writes;

'This is the watch which was worn by Army Chaplain, the Rev. Herbert Butler Cowl C.F. M.C. whilst crossing the channel as a seriously wounded padre on HMHS Anglia in 1915. On the morning of 17 November Herbert Cowl was taken on board the Anglia by stretcher as a 'cot case'. He had been seriously wounded whilst serving on the frontline in Flanders with the 68th Brigade.

During a heavy German bombardment ten days earlier at the frontline, the chaplain had been hit. The first medic at the scene thought he was a 'gonner', but after surgery to remove a piece of shrapnel which was lodged in his throat and a short period of post operative recuperation, he was well enough to be transported on an ambulance train to Hotel Christol, the Red Cross hospital in Boulogne.

​A few days later, four miles off the Dover coast, HMHS Anglia hit a German mine. An explosion ripped through the ship and she began to sink. The events of that fateful day are detailed in Herbert's story, The Half-Shilling Curate, A personal account of war & faith 1914-1918 which tells the previously untold story of his experiences as an Army Chaplain during the Great War. Much of the story is told in his own words through his letters home to his parents and his private writings. Rev. Cowl was one of the lucky ones - he survived. Approximately 134 men and one nurse died on the Anglia - the wreck at the bottom of the sea is their protected war grave. Due to Herbert Cowl's actions on the Anglia, he became the only known Army Chaplain to be awarded the Military Cross Medal for gallantry on a ship during the entire war.

Herbert had an incredible knack of seeing the good in everything and his humour shone through even in the darkest of times. He wrote:

Had not kindly hands brought welcome blankets, my first appearance in Dover would have been more sensational than ecclesiastical: for by then my clothing amounted to a small wrist watch:  which is now my only souvenir of active service!

​

​
Thank you Sarah for this outstanding contribution.

​You can purchase both editions of the book, written by Sarah, or follow the adventures of The 'Half-Shilling Curate' on Twitter @ShillingCurate and halfshillingcurate.com


​

       
​      Shrouded In Honour​ 

​The following entry has been graciously provided by Mark Bannan in addition to the entries above.  He recently visited the magnificent art installation of artist Rob Heard and contributed the following moving account of his time there;

'On 7th July 2016, 100 years and 6 days after the start of the Battle of the Somme my wife, daughter and I visited the memorial  '19,240 Shrouds of the Somme' at Northernhay Gardens in Exeter.


This installation by the artist Rob Heard commemorates each one of the 19,240 Allied Servicemen who lost their lives on the first day of this battle on 1st July 1916 through line after line of shrouded figures laid out as if on the battlefield itself. ​19,240 individual figures each relating to a soldier who lost their lives on that day.

​Apart from the sheer scale of the shrouded figures laid out before you, the overwhelming impact for me was the individuality that each figure seemed to possess, even in the midst of such huge numbers.

Each figure before you related to a named human being who died on that day. I learnt from one of the volunteers on duty that the commemoration opened on 1st July 2016 and that this was the last day, after which the 19,240 figures would never be assembled together in their entirety again.  This made it all the more poignant.

I have recorded our experience on TIme for Remembrance as my wife and I had grandfathers who fought in WW1 including one in the trenches and one in the Royal Naval Air Service.

When I was a young man my own granddad who served between 1915 and 1917 gave me his gold American Waltham USA Traveler pocket watch dated 1916. 100 years old this year, I keep it as a reminder to myself and future generations of my family not only of my granddad but also the catastrophic consequences of war.' [Mark Bannan]

​

The next quote is from the blog of Rob Heard as he was preparing the figures. His blog is more than worth a visit.

'Each of the 19,240 soldiers who died during the first day of battle will be represented by a 12 inch figure, wrapped and bound in a hand-stitched shroud and arranged in rows on the ground. The purpose of this work is to physicalise the number – to illustrate the enormity of the horror which unfolded and the loss of life. It is easy to say the number but almost impossible now, almost 100 years on, to imagine the physical reality of the bodies and the impact that these deaths had on the friends and  families of these individual soldiers or collectively, upon society as a whole.'

​http://thesomme19240.co.uk/the-shrouds/

​You can actually purchase one of the figures or make a donation All profits will be going to The Exeter Foundation and SSAFA The Armed Forces Charity.






​

Many thanks again to Mark; please read his Waltham Traveler pocket watch entry above.


​

                   A Beautiful Memorial



The Mudgee War Memorial Clock located on Church Street, Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia. 

It has a red brick, four sided clock tower, set in the middle of the road with a garden bed forming a road roundabout.

The memorial commemorates those who served and those who lost their lives, while on active service during WW2.

The plaques on the memorial read: "In proud memory of those who served in World War II and for those who were passed from the sight of man".

The bottom plaque on the memorial (to be added soon to this site) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.

​By Kind Courtesy of; Michael W Pocock at http://www.maritimequest.com
(Photos and text courtesy of Peter F. Williams)

                              'The Spaniard' 
            A Story of a hero featured in 'The Winged Dagger' as told                                             by his daughter;

This image of her father has been kindly contributed by Christine Roberts of Exeter, Devon England.

The following story provides a fascinating insight into his life both inside and outside his brave military career.

'My father [pictured centre of the image on the left] was a Spaniard, a Catalan born 5th May 1919.  My mother a  Czechoslovak born 16th April 1922.  They were both from wealthy, privileged and well educated backgrounds.  Both very well read, both multi-lingual they brought me up to believe a book to be a gateway to knowledge.  

How did these two remarkable people meet?  The Spanish civil war broke out and my father took the republican cause, it is believed he chose that side because his father supported the insurgents of fallangists   and he really did not like his or know his parents.  They did not want children, but nevertheless had them and they were raised by servants, when he was seven he was sent to a boarding school in Madrid run by Jesuits.

My mother was four years old when her father died, and because he was a successful businessman buying forests and selling the products her mother was left very comfortably off.  She had many relatives who lent support and security.

World War II changed everyone's life.  For my mother the German Occupation, any young healthy person who was not employed in some vital job would be sent either to labour camps or munitions factory.  The Kodec family had connections and she was fortunate to get work in Prague her home town as a clerk for the National Bank of Czechoslovakia, she worked well and because of the connections they survived the war.

My father with the collapse of the Republican army at Ebro  was taken with many thousands of threes to a prisoner of war camp in North Africa.  This prison was more of an internment camp, not quite an open prison but they were able to go out to local markets each time returning in time for roll call.   Then one day with a handful of others they walked out for the last time and volunteered in the British Army.

He joined the Pioneer Corp, from there he volunteered for the Special Air Service.  Some of his exploits get a mention in a book call "The Winged Dagger" by Roy Farren.  He is frequently referred to as "the Spaniard".  Only near the end when his act of heroism (and stamina) won him a military medal, does his name get a mention.

After the war was over, my mother unexpectedly finds herself on her own when her mother dies.  She saw that the world she knew for twenty three years was over, the communist were in control.  By shear good fortune she gets an exit visa, via her sister in law who was a Russian ballerina, also connected with the K.G.B.
She manages to get a lift to England on an English Diplomatic plane with permission to stay in England for one month.  This is November 1945.

My father was then on a short leave from the army also in London.   At Waterloo Station, they are meeting someone else, they are both stood up.  Bearing in mind they were both young and attractive, the following was understandable.  They looked at one another, and from there they struck up a conversation.  They got on very well, it was not love at first sight, they were too practical but they really enjoyed being with one another.  After a week my mother explained that she would have to return to Czechoslovakia and that there was a warrant out for her arrest, for trying to escape and most of all for publishing articles which were less than flattering to the new regime.  They were both aware of the atrocities so they knew what awaited her.

This was when my father suggested they get married by special licence.  He said it would protect her and she could stay in England,  they said if it did not work out they could divorce.  So they married,  they were very happy.  I wonder if it was because they had no unrealistic expectations.  In many ways they had a lot in common, both well read, well educated, hard working.  They both had a very wide ranging sense of humour.  They were also very kind.  I know its a bland word that deserves to be used more.

I think it was 1947 that my father along with other war heroes attended a reception held in their honour.  Also attending was Ernest Bevan.   He spoke to all those who attended.  When he came to my father he asked what his plans for the future were and if he could help in any way.

My father said that his family in Barcelona owned a printing and publishing company and that he would like to work in that area.  Mr Bevan managed to obtain a union card for him in the printers and stereotypers union.  These cards were like gold dust.  

This enabled my father to get a job at the Express & Echo newspaper in Exeter.  It also was where my father met Reg Roberts who was in charge of the stereotyping department.  He learned his trade on the hoof without anyone realising how little experience he really had. 

These two men got on very well, my mother joined him when I was two weeks old.  The two families became close and socialised.  Reg and Irene had two children, Peter and Geraldine.  Peter at 20 was still in the army.

For the rest of their lives these families stayed in touch.  About 1951 - 1952 my father  got a better paid job in Birmingham at the Birmingham Post & Mail.  Contact with with two families remained through holidays.

I was 14 when my father at the age of 42 died after a short illness.   My widowed mother still kept in touch and we managed to spend holidays in Devon.  Peter although 20 years my senior was charming and to my eyes handsome, yes I had a crush on him.   He married a local lady and during the following 25 years we got on with our lives.'

Many thanks to Christine Roberts for this wonderful and moving contribution to our archive.

                                 From Mons to Ypres and Beyond...

A proud son, Mr Tony Bennett, tells us about his brave father, Mr Robert Harley Egerton Bennett;

'Robert Bennett was born in 1889 and joined the Army in 1906. In 1908 he was awarded a King’s Commission into the Somerset Light Infantry. By 1914 he was serving as the Machine Gun Officer in the 1st Battalion, which embarked for France at the very beginning of World War I.

The Battalion fought in the initial retreat from Mons and in October took up positions in Ploegsteert (known colloquially as Plugstreet Wood). Shortly afterwards Robert was appointed Adjutant . There was very heavy fighting around this area and the Battalion suffered heavy casualties.

 In April 1915 the Battalion took part in the Second Battle of Ypres during which the Germans used poison gas for the first time.  Robert was Mentioned in Despatches in May and was awarded the Military Cross a month later. Later he was evacuated to England, but was again In France in 1918 serving as the Brigade Major of 57 Brigade, which helped the French to stabilise their defences after a major German breakthrough.  Robert was again Mentioned in Despatches and in June was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Commander.

After the War he continued to serve with the Somerset Light Infantry until retiring in 1937. In 1939 he joined the Royal Air Force and served in a number of Staff and Administrative appointments.  He was Mentioned in Despatches in 1942 for work in Bomber Command.

He finally retired in 1947.'

The following images have also been kindly donated to the archive by Tony.

A superb picture of Tony's father's WW1 clinometer circa 1906.Manufactured by H. Hughes & Son Ltd 1906 No. 2842. Housed in the original leather case.

This was used by him to calculate and measure the angles of slope, elevation etc of an object with respect to gravity during his time as a machine gunner. It determined the angle of incidence between the observer and the target.


It is Ministry of Defence (MOD) Issue. 

Reverse angle of the compass;





F Barker & Son Makers. London 1917. 

Again courtesy of Tony.

Graham received a private education at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh. In 1915, at the age of 23, he entered the Royal Military School, Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the 1st Seaforth Highlanders, Gazetted on 22nd October 1915.

He was posted to Egypt in May 1916 where he was to serve with the Seaforth Highlanders until September 1916 when he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps.


Graham’s first assignment with the Royal Flying Corps was to attend a course in the Theory of Flight at Oxford. From there he went to Central Flying School at Netheravon in Wiltshire, qualifying as a pilot on 6th February 1917. This was followed by a course in aerial gunnery at Folkestone in February 1917. He was posted to join 60th squadron in France on 6th April 1917. His first flight in France was on 9th April, a 25 minute local flight in a Nieuport aircraft.


The next 4 days were spent in training flights practicing formation flying and firing at targets. The first sighting of hostile aircraft was in the afternoon of 13th April, but they were not engaged. The following day hostile aircraft were seen and engaged, Graham’s gun jammed. 

The following graphic excerpt is from '60 Squadron a Detailed History' by author Joe Warne and kindly provided by Graham's proud Grandson Alistair. Note the reference to Freiherr Von Richthofen aka The 'Red Baron';

'BLOODY APRIL . A disastrous weekend for the Squadron occurred in mid April. On 14 April Capt Binnie, led B Flight on a diversionary patrol looking for enemy aircraft whilst 11 Squadron sent six FEs to take photos near Douai. Seeing 2 hostile 2-seaters trapped over the photo area Binnie dived to attack them, followed by Lt Russell. Russell was subjected to return fire from one of the HA which punctured his petrol tank, petrol poured over his legs and his engine stopped. Jasta 11 then arrived on the scene and Manfred von Richthofen forced Russell to land near Bois Bernard, where he was taken PoW. In the PoW camp he later met Capt Binnie, who had accounted for 4 HA before he was hit in the shoulder while changing a drum of ammunition. The aircraft caught fire, and although he managed to put the fire out he had fainted, recovering just in time to put the aircraft down safely, but behind the lines. In taxying, the aircraft went into a shell-hole and tipped over, catching fire again. He was pulled out of the Nieuport and came to in hospital, where his arm was amputated. He was repatriated in January 1918 and immediately resumed flying with a specially modified aircraft, which had the throttle on the stick. He was awarded the MC as the result of a recommendation made before these events. Meanwhile, 2Lt Lewis Chapman was shot down by Vfw Festner, taken POW, but died of his wounds on 16 April. New Zealander 2Lt John Cock was also shot down and killed. Apart from Binnie, all these pilots had been with the Squadron for only a few days. Lt Graham Young was the only pilot to return from this patrol.'

During his time with 60 squadron Graham is credited with 5 victories, which qualifies him as an ace. Another ‘Ace’ he was to meet in 60 Squadron was W.A. (Billy) Bishop VC.

On December 23rd Graham received a posting to the home establishment, this was confirmed on Christmas Eve as a posting to 61 Home Defence Squadron. 61 Squadron was stationed at Rochford in Essex, as part of the London Air Defence Area. They were initially equipped with Sopwith Pups until re-equipping with SE5a’s and later Sopwith Camels.


By 1918 attacks by air on London were decreasing, however Graham did fly a number of night air raid patrols, following qualifying as a night fighter pilot in January 1918. While at Rochford he designed a damper to disguise the burst of flame from the exhaust system of a SE5a. This was essential for night operations.

 
He was also involved in experiments with wireless telephony having attended a course in the subject in June 191, following qualifying as a night fighter pilot in January 1918. With the war ending on 11th November 1918, Graham continued in service with 61 Squadron and was transferred to 37 HD squadron in January 1919. 37 Squadron was based at Stow Maries in Essex until being re located to Biggin Hill before being disbanded.


The image left shows the front of the dial of Graham's watch which accompanied him on many of his aerial victories. It is a typical timepiece with subsidiary seconds hand, and highlighted red 12 o' clock position.

Graham returned to the Seaforth Highlanders on 10th November 1919 and was then transferred to the Tank Corps on April 10th 1920, then posted to No 2 Armoured Car Company in Iraq on 10th June 1920. This was during the Arab Rebellion. He served there until January 1923 when he retired due to ill health from an illness contracted in Iraq.  


Graham returned to Scotland and a successful career in architecture in partnership with his father. During WW2 he was The Perth Company Commander of the Home Guard. He was also an instructor with the Air Cadet Corps following the war.

This outstanding hero of WW1, Graham Conacher Young, passed away in Perth on 29th November 1962.'

We cannot sufficiently thank the Young family, who kindly contributed this story and images to us. Should you wish to see more about  the film taken for The Antiques Roadshow and the history of the Royal Flying Corps, please click this link;   http://www.stowmaries.org.uk

                  An image of a Smith Bakelite cased 8 day wall clock,
                from one of the Russian Arctic Convoy ships circa 1944.

The following information and image left, is taken from the fascinating site which commemorates and archives the brave explorations and campaigns of the Russian Arctic Convoy fleets during WW2.

'The North Atlantic Fleet sailed from 1941 to 1945 from the UK to North Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel to aid Russian Allies. The Russian Convoys were called ‘the Suicide Missions’ by many of those men who sailed on them. Merchant ships with supplies and ammunition were escorted by British Royal Naval ships and aircraft carriers. These supplies were vital to the war effort as German forces had Russia completely blockaded.

During the war young men of 18 were drafted into the forces and some lads in the Merchant Navy were only 16 years old. With German u-boats and aircraft intent on stopping supplies to Russia many ships were lost and over 3,000 young men perished in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, their bodies never to be recovered.

Supplies came initially solely from British sources with a greatly increasing quantity from America from January 1942. Allied supplies transported to Russia included 7,411 aircraft, 4,932 anti-tank guns and 5,218 tanks. For Prime Minister Winston Churchill, these supplies were a vital demonstration of Allied solidarity. He did however call the Arctic Convoys The Worst Journey in the World

With a total of 78 Convoys to Russia, Loch Ewe in Wester Ross, Scotland was where 19 of the convoys departed, a further 23 left from Liverpool, The Clyde (Glasgow), Oban and Reykjavik (Iceland). From Russia to the UK there were 36 convoys.'

For more information please visit; http://www.russianarcticconvoymuseum.co.uk/wp/category/theconvoys/the-women-of-the-convoys/

                                Foley, Artist of Escape


Whilst visiting my mother in Highbridge, Somerset, I just happened upon this intriguing statue [Cathy McAnespie]. It depicts Major Francis Edward Foley (Born 24 November 1884, in Highbridge, Somerset Died 8 May 1958.) 


He was a British Secret Intelligence Service officer, working at passport control in the British Embassy in Berlin. , Foley "bent the rules" and helped thousands of Jewish families escape from Nazi Germany after 'Kristallnacht' and before the outbreak of WW2.

Foley was in Hamburg studying philosophy, when the United Kingdom declared war on Germany in August 1914. He made his way through Germany towards the north of the Netherlands by borrowing a military uniform and posing as a Prussian Army officer. Exchanging the uniform for civilian clothes, he managed to get to Emden, and with the help of a local priest found some fishermen who ferried him into the neutral Netherlands. He made his way back to Highbridge and took a job as an assistant master at Bengeo Preparatory School while considering what to do next.

At the end of 1915 he decided to join the army, and entered the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps, originally restricted to barristers before the rules were relaxed to include university and public school entrants. He received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Hertfordshire Regiment in January 1917, and was posted to France and the Western Front, where he was promoted to acting Captain. He was wounded in the chest while fighting near Ecoust-Saint-Mein and evacuated back to England.

Foley had been lucky to escape; within a few hours savage fighting, the strength of his unit had been cut by two thirds. The bullet had damaged his left lung, and after convalescence and recuperation, he was ruled no longer fit for front-line duty and sent on leave.

The story of his escape from Germany and his language skills had been noted by someone at the War Office. He was encouraged to apply for the Intelligence Corps. In July 1918 he became part of a small unit which was responsible for recruiting and running networks of secret agents in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. After a few weeks he was sent to France, where, after the Armistice, he served for a short time in the Inter-Allied Military Commission of Control in Cologne. After the running down of the Commission, he was subsequently offered the post of passport control officer in Berlin which was a cover for his main duties as head of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) station. During the 1920s and 30s, Foley was successful in recruiting agents and acquiring key details of German military research and development.

Foley is primarily remembered as a "British Schindler". In his role as passport control officer he helped thousands of Jews escape from Nazi Germany. At the 1961 trial of former ranking Nazi Adolf Eichmann, he was described as a "Scarlet Pimpernel" for the way he risked his own life to save Jews threatened with death by the Nazis. Despite having no diplomatic immunity and being liable to arrest at any time, Foley would bend the rules when stamping passports and issuing visas, to allow Jews to escape "legally" to Britain or Palestine, which was then controlled by the British. Sometimes he went further, going into internment camps to get Jews out, hiding them in his home, and helping them get forged passports. One Jewish aid worker estimated that he saved "tens of thousands" of people from the Holocaust.

At the outbreak of war Foley was recalled to London. In 1941, he was given the task of questioning Hitler's Deputy Rudolf Hess, after Hess's flight to Scotland. After Hess was hospitalised in 1942, Foley helped co-ordinate MI5 and MI6 in running a network of double agents called the 'Double Cross System'. He returned to Berlin after the war, where he was involved in hunting for ex-SS members. In 1949 Foley retired to Stourbridge, a town in the Black Country, and died there in 1958; he is buried in Stourbridge Cemetery.

This statue was commissioned from sculptor Jonathan Sells and unveiled on the anniversary of VE Day, which is also the anniversary of his death. The 'Frank Foley Parkway' between Highbridge and Burnham on Sea opened on 7 July 2009.

Since putting this wonderful story into our archive, we have been in touch with the sculptor Jonathan Sells, who is more than happy for us to record why he chose this particular time on the clock and its significance;

'Dear Cathy   Thank you for your interest in my Frank Foley Sculpture at Highbridge, Somerset. With my work there are often many layers of meaning, but the main significance of the time on the clock is that it represents the time period in which Frank Foley was assisting Jewish people in getting visas so that they could leave Nazi Germany leading up to the outbreak of World War II. He headed the passport division of the British Embassy in Berlin in the 1930's, up to the start of the war, 1939. In terms of the 24 hour clock, this would be 19 hours 39 minutes.   I was also sculpting the piece for the 47th anniversary of his passing, he died in 1958. Whilst working I was consciously aware that the hands on the clock also made significant the number 7 and also 40 minutes, this was not consciously done, although the date of the start of the war was, however it's an interesting coincidence.   I've now had a look at your website and it's very thorough and you have put tons of work into it! I've added it to my favourites so that I can have a really good read of it one day soon. Being honest due to time restraints I didn't actually get to finish the piece, I would love to go back and add certain details to it one day.   Thank you so much for your interest.   Best wishes   Jonathan'.

Please visit Jonathan's unique website at; www.jonathan-sells.com for much more of his fascinating work. 

When the UK entered the Second World War in September 1939 George VI issued this message:

'In these anxious days I would like to express to all Officers and Men and in The British Merchant Navy and The British Fishing Fleets my confidence in their unfailing determination to play their vital part in defence. To each one I would say: Yours is a task no less essential to my people's experience than that allotted to the Navy, Army and Air Force. Upon you the Nation depends for much of its foodstuffs and raw materials and for the transport of its troops overseas. You have a long and glorious history, and I am proud to bear the title "Master of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets". I know that you will carry out your duties with resolution and with fortitude, and that high chivalrous traditions of your calling are safe in your hands. God keep you and prosper you in your great task'.

Memories to Excell




I was recently given this beautiful painting by my lovely Mother in Law Judy as a birthday present. 

It is by East Brent, Somerset artist Sheila Excell, and depicts the war memorial shown above [Steve McAnespie.]
















​

A Memorial Tower for the Sherwood Foresters Regiment, was erected in 1923 at the summit of Crich Hill in Derbyshire, England.

Built on the site of an older tower called Crich Stand, the Memorial Tower is the destination of an annual pilgrimage on the first Sunday in July. It is 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, and has 52 steps to the top. From there eight counties can be seen, including landmarks such as the Humber Bridge and Lincoln Cathedral.














n.b. men from the 12th Battalion Sherwood Foresters, produced the 'Wipers Times'.

  





Right; My Grandfather's Prisoner of War army identification tags, otherwise known - somewhat unkindly - as 'dog tags', detailing his number, name and denomination.

By 1915 the British Army required all soldiers to wear two official tags, both made of compressed fibre (which were more comfortable to wear in hot climates) carrying identical details, impressed by an imprinting machine, one character at a time.
The tags, one an octagonal green tag, punched with two holes for cords, the other, a red circular tag punched once, were suspended from the serviceman's neck using cord resembling butcher's twine, being passed through one hole in the octagonal green tag. A much shorter cord was used to link the two tags, which could be easily separated by cutting.



​















Another image of my Grandfather's watch detailing the strap and buckle.
 
 












     

                              My Uncle Den... (A Tribute to Another Quiet Hero)



This is a picture of my wonderful and funny Uncle Dennis Proctor, who sadly passed away very recently.

Although not generally a quiet man - especially when he was attempting to galvanise his troops as a Sergeant in the transport corps, during his army career - Den, like so many others, was very reticent when it came to talking about his time with the army.  So, it is up to the rest of us to shout about it, and preserve his - and all of our heroes' legacies​​.

Den travelled extensively while with the transport corps, and we are hoping to put together his stories and anecdotes, and pictures of his timepieces to be added to this site over the coming weeks.  However; we just felt he should be commemorated within this site ahead of Remembrance Sunday 2015.







Thank you Uncle Den, Remembered Always.​​

                                        
                                        ​V J Day

The awe inspiring clock of St Martin in the Fields, London, http://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/ overlooks the commemorations for the 70th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day.)


Her Majesty the Queen was present at St Martin in the Fields, on 15 August 2015. It was a significant day for my family and many, many people who were remembering their loved ones who lost their lives, or were Prisoners of War like my Grandfather -above- during WW2 [Cathy].

This image is kind courtesy of Dan Barker @danbarker 

Many thanks for bringing this image to our attention Dan. 

A moving and fitting tribute to all those Ottery men who 'made the great sacrifice' during WW1 is permanently on display in front of one of the magnificent stained glass windows within St Mary's. 

                                  Trench Art Propeller Clock
                     Commemorates WW1 Scottish Flying Ace

On a recent visit to Callendar, Falkirk in Scotland, we visited Callendar House which exhibits this fascinating piece of original 'Trench Art' presented to Captain James Fitz-Morris (6 April 1897 - 14 August 1918) Military Cross and Bar.   Captain Fitzmorris was a British, World War 1 flying ace, credited with 14 aerial victories. Archives record his name in various spellings but the one recorded at Callendar House we understand is the more correct. Cathy McAnespie.

Captain Fitz-Morris  joined '25 Squadron' in July 1917, flying the Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d and then the Airco DH.4 bomber, claiming with his gunner David Luther Burgess some 7 aircraft shot down during July and August. They were both awarded the Military Cross for their deeds, Fitz-Morris's being gazetted on 9 January 1918.
He then became a flight commander in 23 Squadron, flying the SPAD from early 1918 onward, winning the bar to the MC on 22 June 1918 by downing 7 enemy planes during March 1918. He was slightly wounded in his final engagement, on 24 March 1918, and grounded for a few days. He did not score again after his return to flying.

The poster above portrays the 1949 film 'Twelve o' Clock High'. It is an American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's 8th Air Force who flew daylight bombing missions against Nazi Germany and occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II. The film was adapted by Sy Bartlett, Henry King  and Beirne Lay, Jr. from the 1948 novel 12 O'Clock High, also by Bartlett and Lay. The phrase refers to the practice of calling out the positions of attacking enemy aircraft by reference to an imaginary clock face, with the bomber at the centre. The terms "high" (above the bomber), "level" (at the same altitude as the bomber) and "low" (below the bomber) further refine the location of the enemy. Thus "twelve o'clock high" meant the attacker was approaching from directly ahead and above. This location was preferred by German fighter pilots because, until the introduction of the 'Bendix chin turret' in the B-17G model, the nose of the B-17 was the most lightly armed and vulnerable part of the bomber. Enemy fighter aircraft diving from above were also more difficult targets for the B-17 gunners due to their high closing speeds. Bartlett’s wife, actress Ellen Drew,  is believed to have named the story after hearing Bartlett and Lay discuss German fighter tactics, which usually involved head-on attacks from "twelve o’clock high".

Harry Laird died in 1979, followed four years later by his son, Edgar. Ruth Laird died in 1999, leaving trunks full of memories of a son who loved airplanes. “When he was a little boy, he drew planes. He wrote poems about flying,” Laird-Menezes said. Laird-Allen recalled traveling several times to Europe with her grandmother. 

One time, they took a boat trip down the Rhine River, near Hassloch. Another time, they went to Belgium. “She made sure we went there, but she never said anything — I think she was researching,” Laird-Allen recalled. “I know my grandmother was really lost without him.”

Soon, Laird-Allen and her sisters will have another piece of the puzzle, one more answer about what happened to their uncle 71 years ago: The watch is in the mail.' 









     
         Reverse angle of the 'Elgin' Co. watch

With grateful thanks to Cynthia Lambert at: http://www.sanluisobispo.com Pictures courtesy and copyright of The Tribune

                                          A Race Against Time
                                           Alan Turing; Man, Machine, Enigma.

Dr Alan Mathison Turing (1912-1954) Probably the greatest and most influential contributor to shortening the length of WW2 [by up to 2 years] thereby reputedly saving up to 14 million lives.

It is generally agreed that had the bombing raids by the German Navy against British fleets bringing food supplies from America not been stopped (or at least radically disrupted) Britain would have eventually starved to death during WW2.

The race against time to crack a code, and therefore frustrate the attacks on our supply line fleets, is outlined here, and the following information is from the excellent website of Mr Andrew Hodges;

'Born in London on 23rd June 1912, the young Alan Turing had a precocious talent for science and mathematics. He studied at King’s College, Cambridge University then Princeton University, New Jersey, USA before publishing his ground-breaking theories on the ‘Turing Machine’ and ‘Universal Turing Machine’ in 1936 – concepts which can today be thought of as a computer program and a modern computer. 

During World War II Turing worked secretly [situated in innocuous looking pre-fabricated wooden huts [mainly hut 6 and 8] for the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, England.  There he and his team cracked the German Enigma system – in particular deciphering German U-boat messages and so contributing greatly to the winning of the Battle of the Atlantic. Turing was later awarded an OBE for his code-breaking work. 


        Alan Turing a World Class Marathon Runner

The Enigma Machine


Enigma was invented by the German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of WW1. 
Most German communications - undoubtedly those responsible for the bombings of supply ships - were enciphered on the Enigma cipher machine. It was based on rotors whose movement produced ever-changing alphabetic substitutions. In its military use, the basic machine was greatly enhanced by a plugboard, visible on the front of the machine.

The ciphers it produced were supposed to be unbreakable even by someone in possession of the machine. Ideas of great logical ingenuity were needed to defeat it. The machine was capable of giving 159 million million million possible settings to choose from.

In fact, the Enigma had to be broken repeatedly, and the race against time ensued day upon day, as the code was reset by at midnight each day.  Possession alone of the Enigma machine did not allow Enigma messages to be read and decoded. The German use of the Enigma depended on systems for setting the keys for each message transmitted, and it was these key-systems that had to be broken. There were many such systems, often changing, and the hardware was changed as well from time to time. The brilliant pre-war work by Polish mathematicians enabled them to read Enigma messages on the simplest key-systems. The information they gave to Britain and France in 1939 may have been crucial, but it was not sufficient for the continuation and extension of Enigma breaking over the next six years. New ideas were essential.

In late 1939, Alan Turing and another Cambridge mathematician,Gordon Welchman, designed a new machine, the British 'Bombe'. The basic property of the Bombe was that it could break any Enigma-enciphered message, provided that the hardware of the Enigma was known and that a plain-text 'crib' of about 20 letters could be guessed accurately.

The technology used within Alan Turing's Bombe [shown left] is outwith the scope of this archive but for a full explanation into this, please visit; Tony Sale's site. This gives a full technical description and explanation of the machine and its use. It also offers a 'Virtual Bletchley Park' area with a page detailing his explanation of how Turing arrived at the idea of the Bombe, and another about the Polish breaking of the Enigma which preceded it. It includes an on-line simulator of the Bombe, and much more historical information.

Another 'clear' explanation of the principle of the Bombe is given by Graham Ellsbury on his Enigma pages.

The Bombes were built by British Tabulating Machinery at their factory in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. The first was in use by May 1940 and breaking German Air Force messages. It was called (with an optimism unjustified by current events) Victory. The second arrived in August, It was called Agnus Dei, the extraordinary choice of name being ascribed to Turing. (He might well have remarked that it would be an effective way of taking away the sins of the world.) 

The Bombe was used with success from the summer of 1940 onward, to break messages enciphered on the simpler Enigma system used by the German Air Force. But the most important messages were those to and from the U-Boat fleet, and these were enciphered on a much more secure Enigma system.  Turing took on this problem, going against the prevailing view that it would prove unbreakable. 

Above; The Bombe still ticking away nicely at Bletchley Park during our visit.  Hut 11 still housing this iconic machine.

These are some of the main people with whom Alan Turing worked.

• Before the war, his 'boss' was old-timer Dillwyn Knox. Peter Twinn joined in early 1939.
• From September 1939, they were joined by Gordon Welchman.
• In June 1940, Joan Clarke joined.
• In 1941: From February, Shaun Wylie. From March, Hugh Alexander. From May, Jack Good.
• Peter Hilton joined in January 1942.

Alan Turing recruited Shaun Wylie as a fellow graduate student from his Princeton days. Joan Clarke was brought in by Gordon Welchman, when she finished her Cambridge fourth year in mathematics. She became Alan Turing's closest friend, and in early 1941 he proposed marriage to her, which she accepted. Immediately, however; he told her of his 'homosexual tendencies', and the engagement ended in August 1941: he quoted 'Yet each man kills the thing he loves' from Oscar Wilde. His confidences to her showed that the refugee boy Bob was on his mind - Bob being an Austrian refugee who he had helped seek asylum in Britain. His friend Fred Clayton had written a fictionalised account of how the connection with the refugees had come about, and he gave this to Joan as a way of airing the subject of his sexuality. After 1942 he had less to do with Hut Eight - in which he worked on the Naval Enigma - and was most friendly with Donald Michie, who joined Bletchley Park in 1943.

The breaking of the Enigma ciphers also saved countless lives during the Blitz by predicting which cities the German bombers would attack, allowing the RAF to lie in wait for them, and the authorities to ensure people were in shelters in good time.


Alan Turing tragically committed suicide in 1954 but his genius and legacy live on, and still influences much of our day to day lives.


With grateful thanks to; Alan Hodges http://www.turing.org.uk/index.html

The Lakenhalle as it now stands. The campanile - bell tower - with all four clock dials has been magnificently restored.

Every evening since 1928 (except for a period during the Second World War when Ypres was occupied by Germany), at precisely eight o'clock, traffic around the imposing arches of the Menin Gate Memorial has been stopped while the Last Post is sounded beneath the Gate by the local fire brigade. This tribute is given in honour of the memory of British Empire soldiers who fought and died there.

                   


                    Plane Writing

A WW1 battlefield letter from a Canadian soldier written on aeroplane wing fabric to his young daughter is part of an exhibit marking the centenary of the start of the First World War. 2 pocket watches were also taken from the plane.

The letter by Sgt. Edward Iley is exhibited at Calgary's The Military Museums and is written on the fabric from the wing of a German aircraft Sgt. Edward's unit shot down.  The letter was written to his daughter Bernice from Cambrai, France, in 1918.

" March 12, 1918, I got this on the Cambrai front off a German plane that came down," 

"Hoping the war is over soon and that (I) will soon be able to come home. Be a good little girl and be good to mama for dada's sake."

Iley's great-grandson, University of Calgary student Michael Hilton, said his brother found the letter tucked away in a Tupperware container. Michael decided to do a research project and took the fabric scrap to the University of Calgary's library and archives at The Military Museums. Staff there used documents and war diaries to help him research his great-grandfather's unit, the Canadian 12th Railroad Division.

The unit was constantly exposed to bombs and gunfire while working on top of the trenches to build light railway tracks over the mud to pull supplies to the front and bring the injured back. Michael informed "They were on top of the trenches and laying track and moving equipment back and forth to the soldiers inside the trenches". "It was very common that airplanes would fly over and drop bombs on them. They shot the plane down and then, when the plane came down, they cut the fabric and he took two pocket watches, one from the pilot and one from the co-pilot, and sent them home as souvenirs."

Experts appear to agree that many soldiers wrote letters on the fabric from airplane wings, but Hilton's research turned up only two others in the world — one in Australia and one in France [also see; www.collectorsweekly.com/stories]

"What makes the letter special is the connection that it shows between the men on the front lines and their families back home," said Rory Cory, senior curator at The Military Museums. "In the end, this is what really kept them going — and, in fact, what still keeps them going today — knowing they have people at home who support and love them."

Sgt. Iley's great-grandson said he has been able to identify one of the dead German soldiers, Fredrick Schoening, but has been unable to find any contact information since most military records were destroyed during the Second World War. He said his great-grandfather spoke very little about his wartime experiences, so the letter has given Hilton a connection to the past. "That part really hit home to me that he signed up, he volunteered to go in a very dangerous position," he said. "He left behind a young wife and two very young daughters. It's very touching that someone would put their life on the line."

The letter, pocket watch and more than 300 artifacts relating to the First World War go on public display Monday as part of the exhibition Wild Rose Overseas: Albertans in the Great War.

Noteworthy artifacts include pieces of the Red Baron's plane and audio interviews with First World War veterans.

The exhibit runs until Dec. 15.

Images and story by kind courtesy of Bill Graveland; http://www.huffingtonpost.ca

                        
                            'He Dared....and Won'

                                 Arthur "Chippy" Wood.

  The Story of Just One of Our Brave SAS 'D Day' Heroes
          (by his friend Mr Ian (Nobby) Clark of Norfolk, England).

Arthur Leonard Wood was born in Norwich on April 19 1921 and went to Thorpe Hamlet School. He left school at 14 to join a company of aircraft manufacturers as an electrical plater. He served in the 70th Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment before transferring to the Royal Corps of Signals.

After training in wireless work, Wood was posted to GHQ Liaison Regiment. He learned how to drive a pick-up truck at Cliveden, the Astor family seat, and accompanied F Squadron on combined operations training, practising beach landings with suitcase radio sets and climbing mountains with heavy wireless telegraphy equipment.

Arthur Leonard Wood. Seen above left, wearing his Red Beret and with his service military issue watch. The original strap has been reenforced with a more substantial one.

In March 1944, after a parachute course at Ringway, F Squadron came under the command of SAS Brigade and became known as SAS Phantom. He was dropped with a Phantom patrol into Occupied France on D-Day + 4.

On the night of June 10 1944, Wood, then a corporal, together with his patrol officer and three wireless operators, all members of SAS Phantom, took off for France from Fairford airfield, Gloucestershire. With them on Operation Houndsworth was a small advance reconnaissance party from A Squadron 1 SAS Regiment, led by Major Bill Fraser, and an SOE colonel.

Their mission was to impede German troop movements, disrupt their communications and prevent them from moving up to Normandy to reinforce their offensive against the Allied bridgehead. The main role of 2 Patrol, commanded by Captain Tom Moore, was to help set up a base and then provide the radio link between the SAS in the field and their HQ in London.

The patrol was dropped into the Morvan mountains between Dijon and Nevers, about 150 miles south of Paris. They wore battledress and red berets, but no insignia. Low cloud obscured the dropping zone (DZ) and they were unable to see the reception committee.

On the ground, they found themselves spread out over a wide area, and it was some time before they were re-united and able to fix their exact location. When base camps and ammunition dumps in the forest had been established, the remainder of A Squadron SAS joined them.

They slept in sleeping bags on the ground and were constantly being hunted. Intelligence provided by the French underground, however, enabled them to keep a step ahead. Medical facilities for the first few weeks were very basic. Those gravely wounded who could not be evacuated were operated upon on a kitchen table by a French surgeon.

Every day, Wood and his comrades had the arduous task of decoding and encoding messages and maintaining a continuous wireless link with base HQ. At night, they arranged for supply drops. About 30 minutes before the aircraft was due, Wood moved to the DZ with his "Eureka" radar beacon...


                                             
                      






                                                Above, Chippy's Pocket Watch & SAS Insignia 'Who Dares Wins'.

If an aircraft flew over and he did not hear a high-pitched signal in his earphones, he let it go. When he did hear the signal, he tapped out the recognition letter in Morse. The men with him would then light a flare path with sand and petrol, and the supplies would be dropped by parachute.

On one occasion, a Frenchman in the area reported that Rommel had taken over his chateau. Major Fraser asked for permission to send in a party of SAS mounted in jeeps. Wood's task was to accompany them and lay on an air raid. He was told that, if he survived, he would certainly be given a medal but, somewhat to his relief, the operation was aborted.

In three months, the force of 18 officers and 126 soldiers blew up the main railway line 22 times. They inflicted substantial casualties on the German forces opposing them, and picked out 30 bombing targets for the RAF. An oil refinery was destroyed and many smaller targets sabotaged.

By September, the Germans had withdrawn eastwards. Wood and his comrades commandeered a number of old cars and drove to Arromanches, where they boarded a ship bound for Newhaven. Wood was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Silver Star and was mentioned in dispatches.

After Operation Houndsworth, Wood and his patrol took part in forward reconnaissance operations with 2 SAS in the Rhine crossing and the advance to Hamburg.

Wood was promoted to sergeant and went to Norway to help round up the Germans who were still there. In 1946 he was demobilised, and trained at Goldsmith's Hall before becoming head of maths and metalworking at Hewett School, Norwich.

In retirement, Wood lived in Norwich and was for many years treasurer of his local Normandy D-Day Veterans' Association.

Chippy Wood died on April 24. He married, in 1939, Mary Galey at Gretna Green (and later that year in England); she survives him, with an adopted daughter.

With special thanks to Mr Ian (Nobby) Clark, of Norwich for providing all the images and stories (all images and content copyright Mr Ian Clark. Permission must be sought prior to copying or using any content).

Changing Times. 

Above; An outstanding image capturing a highly significant moment in time during the final moments of WW2 in Europe.


Soviet troops recorded on camera, setting the Martin Halisch Clock maker's store clock on Market Square in Breslau in 1945. Note the bullet hole through the clock face.


The Siege of Breslau was a 3 month siege of the city set in lower Silesia, Germany. It lasted from 13 February 1945 to 6 May 1945 - (the end of WW2 in Europe.)  German troops were besieged by the Soviet forces which encircled the city as part of the 'Lower Silesian Offensive Operation' (a Soviet offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II in 1945, involving forces of the 1st Ukrainian Front under MarshalIvan Konev). It cleared German troops from much of Lower Silesia and besieged a large German force in the provincial capital, Breslau. 


The German garrison's surrender on 6 May was followed by the surrender of all German forces 2 days after the battle.


For more information regarding this significant aspect of WW2 in Europe, see; 
'HITLER'S FINAL FORTRESS - BRESLAU 1945' (2012) -- Richard Hargreaves.

In August 1945, the Fat Man was assembled on Tinian (an island South West of Saipan) by Project Alberta personnel. When the physics package was fully assembled and wired, it was placed inside its aerodynamic bombshell and wheeled out, where it was signed by nearly 60 people!

It was then wheeled to the bomb bay of the B-29 Superfortress named Bockscar after its normally assigned command pilot, Captain Frederick C. Bock,[39] who flew The Great Artiste with his crew on the mission. Bockscar was flown by Major Charles W. Sweeney and his crew, with Commander Frederick L. Ashworth from Project Alberta as the weaponeer in charge of the bomb.

The original target for the bomb was the city of Kokura, but it was found to be obscured by clouds and drifting smoke from fires started by a major firebombing raid by 224 B-29s on nearby Yawata the previous day. This covered 70% of the area over Kokura, obscuring the aiming point. Three bomb runs were made over the next 50 minutes, burning fuel and exposing the aircraft repeatedly to the heavy defences of Yawata, but the bombardier was unable to drop visually. By the time of the third bomb run, Japanese antiaircraft fire was getting close, and Second Lieutenant Jacob Beser, who was monitoring Japanese communications, reported activity on the Japanese fighter direction radio bands.

Sweeney then proceeded to the alternative target, Nagasaki. It too was obscured by cloud, and Ashworth ordered Sweeney to make a radar approach. At the last minute, the bombardier, Captain Kermit K. Beahan, found a hole in the clouds. The Fat Man was dropped, and following a 43-second duration free fall, exploded at 11:02 local time, at an altitude of about 1,650 feet (500 m).The Mitsubishi-Urakami Ordnance Works, the factory that manufactured the type 91 torpedoes released in the attack on Pearl Harbour, was destroyed in the blast. Because of poor visibility due to cloud cover, the bomb missed its intended detonation point by almost two miles, and damage was somewhat less extensive than that in Hiroshima.

An estimated 40,000 people were killed outright by the bombing at Nagasaki. Thousands more died later from related blast and burn injuries, and hundreds more from radiation illnesses from exposure to the bomb's initial radiation.

Another example of this historic and terrifying moment captured in time. This clock - although showing a different time to that above - is significantly more damaged by the blast of the Nagasaki bomb.

This clock and the one above, are displayed at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum in Japan.

Our thanks to M J Day @DaloDallenger and Matthew Ward @HistoryNeedsYou for supplying an image of this clock and helping us remember.

Another wonderfully clear image kindly brought to our attention by Mr Robert Butler http://forums.watchuseek.com/f11/very-early-wristwatch-articles-1034112-21.html#post8030853 .

It depicts soldiers of the Black Mountain 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs The Duke of Albany's) Black Mountain Expeditionary Force, 3 of whom can be seen wearing watches on both right and left wrists.

The picture is circa 1888, again dispelling the notion that it was either too feminine for a man to wear a wrist watch or that it was WW1 that 'normalised' their use.

                              Evolution of the Barrage

The barrage is believed to have been developed by the British in the Second Boer War. It came to prominence in WW1 notably its use by the British Expeditionary force and particularly from late 1915 onwards when the British realised that the neutralising effects of artillery to provide covering fire were the key to breaking into defensive positions. By late 1916 the creeping barrage was the standard means of deploying artillery to support an infantry attack, with the infantry following the advancing barrage as closely as possible. Its employment in this way recognised the importance of artillery fire in neutralising, rather than destroying, the enemy. It was found that a moving barrage immediately followed by the infantry assault could be far more effective than weeks of preliminary bombardment.

It is understood that the term “barrage” was first used in World War I in English in the orders for the battle of Newuve Chapelle. in 1915.


Synchronisation of the Barrage:
A moving barrage or creeping barrage was a barrage that lifted in small increments, usually 100 yards every few minutes, so that it moved forward slowly, keeping pace with the infantry. British normal practice evolved to fire at two lines simultaneously. Eventually, three patterns of advancing the barrage developed. In a creeping barrage, fire moved from one line to the next. In a block barrage, the block moved (as a block) to the next lines that were not previously engaged. In a rolling barrage, the fire on the line nearest to its own troops moved to the first unengaged line furthest from its own troops.

By late 1917, the technique of a creeping barrage had been perfected and could be made to move in more complex ways, with the barrage wheeling or even combing back and forth across the same ground in order to catch the defenders re-emerging after the barrage had passed, but it was still governed by a timetable. The British developed the "quick barrage", a standardised barrage pattern that could be ordered by radio without advance plotting of the 'fireplan' on a map. Up to 10% were expected to be killed or wounded by shortfalling shells when it was first used.  A creeping barrage could be made to stand on a static line for a time before it moved on, perhaps waiting for the infantry to form up behind it, or to catch up, or perhaps it would stand on the line of known enemy defences, to increase damage and sap enemy morale. The fireplan for the Battle of Messines on 17 June 1917 called for most of the18-pounder field guns to fire a creeping barrage of shrapnel immediately ahead of the advance, while the other field guns and 4.5 howitzers fired a standing barrage some 700 yards (640 m) further ahead.

A creeping barrage could maintain the element of surprise, with the guns opening fire only shortly before the assault troops moved off. It was useful when enemy positions had not been thoroughly reconnoitered, as it did not depend on identifying individual targets in advance. On the other hand it was wasteful of ammunition and guns, as much of the fire would inevitably fall on ground containing no enemy.  A creeping barrage was first used in a small section of the line at the Battle of Loos in 1915, but the infantry did not advance behind it. The first day of the Battle of the Somme saw the first attempt at a large-scale creeping barrage which had been planned in anticipation of the infantry's expected ability to advance, relatively unhampered, across the battlefield due to a heavy, week long preparatory bombardment. For example, on XV Corps front (XV Corps was formed in Egypt on 9 December 1915 and then reformed in France on 22 April 1916 under Lieutenant-General SirHenry Horne) the barrage was programmed to lift 50 yards (46 m) every minute. Complications arose however in British protocols to prevent friendly-fire casualties which at the time dictated that shellfire was to be kept over one hundred yards away from their own uncovered infantry. In many cases no-man's land was narrower than the allowable 'safe' distance and as such the barrage did not protect the men as they went 'over the top' and advanced towards the German trenches.

Back barrages were also fired, in which rearmost lines of the barrage reversed direction, and machine gun barrages were introduced. 'False' barrages attempted to deceive the enemy about Allied intentions or to force them to reveal their positions. The creeping barrage was used to 'great' effect in the Canadian success at Vimy Ridge where the men had been extensively trained to move forward in the 'Vimy Glide' (see image left) - a 100 yd per three minute pace which kept the infantry directly behind the barrage. The opening attack of the Battle of Passchendaele (July - November 1917, for control of the ridges south and east of the Belgian city of Ypres in W. Flanders) was covered by a barrage of shrapnel and High explosive on a colossal scale, fired by over 3,000 British guns and howitzers: one 18-pounder for every 15 yards (14 m) of front, and a heavy howitzer for every 50 yards
(46 m), with yet more guns in the French sector. The British barrage advanced 100 yards (91 m) every four minutes, with the infantry following as close as 50 yards (46 m) from the bursting shells. One battery's programme required 45 lifts. As each objective was reached, the barrage settled 500 yards (460 m) beyond the new position, combing back and forth to disrupt expected German counter-attacks, while some of the artillery moved forward to support the next phase of the advance.

                                                            World War 2
The barrage remained in use in WW2, but was no longer the dominant artillery plan. In the absence of the huge set-piece infantry assaults of World War I, barrages were on a smaller scale. For the opening of the battle of El Alamein (1 – 27 July 1942) for example, a barrage was considered by Montgomery's planners, (Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, British general and later field marshal) but the barrage was rejected in favour of fierce concentrations on known or suspected targets in turn. Along a 12,000 yard front, 456 guns were considered insufficient for a true creeping barrage (at Neuve Chapelle there had been one gun for every four yards of front). But creeping and rolling barrages were used in some divisional sectors and in later phases of the Alamein battle. For Operation Supercharge on 1–2 November 1942, the attack in the 2nd New Zealand Division sector was preceded by a creeping barrage of 192 guns along a 4,000 yard front, firing on three lines. There was almost one 25-pounder for every 20 yards of front, plus two medium regiments thickening the barrage.

While artillery tactics had been subjected to considerable evolution between the Wars, the British Gunnery School at Larkhill developed the most significant techniques for rapidly controlling and coordinating artillery fire. The impact of this was first felt in the Western Desert campaign. In WWI it had become essential to plot the location of all guns accurately, but the British would now survey in all their guns to one reference point; that made it possible for every artillery piece within range to join a fireplan in a very few minutes (provided they were in communications), rather than over several hours or days.

It remained in use in the Italian Campaign. In the assault on the Hitler Line on 23 May 1944, 810 guns were amassed for the attack of I Canadian Corps. Three hundred of them fired on the first line of a 3,200 yard wide barrage, beginning three minutes before the infantry moved off and lifting at a rate of 100 yards in five minutes. It was due to pause for an hour at the first objective, then lift at 100 yards per three minutes to the further objectives, but the timing was disrupted by heavy resistance and defensive artillery fire. The operation was later criticised for concentrating on too narrow a front, constrained by the need for enough guns to produce a dense barrage (See the map below).

In the assault crossing of the Senio in 1945, dummy barrages were used to confuse the enemy, either misleading them as to the line of attack or drawing them out of shelters as the barrage passed, expecting an infantry assault, only to catch them with a renewed barrage or air attacks.

On Monte Sole, US artillery fired probably its heaviest barrage of the war, 75,000 shells in a half hour to clear the advance of the South Africans.In Normandy, a creeping barrage fired from 344 guns preceded the opening attacks of 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division in Operation Epsom on 26 June 1944.For the opening of Operation Veritable, the push to the Rhine, the fire of 1,050 field and heavy guns was supplemented by 850 barrels of pepper-pot barrage: other weapons – mortars, machine guns, tanks, anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns and rockets – supplementing the field guns. The true barrage of the British XXX Corps began at 09.20, building in intensity over the next hour, 500 guns shooting at a line 500 yards deep. The barrage included smoke shells to screen the attackers forming up behind the barrage. From 10.30 the barrage was pure high explosive and began to roll forward. A 300 yard lift was made every 12 minutes, the lifts being signalled to the infantry by yellow smoke shells, and the barrage paused for ½ hour at each defensive line. 2,500 shells were fired per km2 per hour until the barrage stopped at 16.30.

The barrage remained in Soviet doctrine in World War II, where the creeping barrage by massed guns was the standard accompaniment to an infantry assault. The Soviet artillery lacked the sophisticated communications nets necessary for more subtle tactics, but had plenty of guns. Some 7,000 guns and mortars were massed for the counterattack at Stalingrad, and huge bombardments remained standard for the rest of the war.

 As always, Timing, communication and synchronisation were vital during conflict.

Canadian Army Campaign image courtesy of; worldwariieuropeantheater.wikispaces.com

                                              Magical Times
                                How a Magician and Horologist averted a Major Conflict

Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805 – 1871) was probably the most accomplished and influential magician of his time. Erich Weitz (Houdini) even taking his name.  He is widely considered the 'father of the modern style of conjuring'.

He was born, Jean Eugène Robert in Blois, France, on 7 December 1805. His father Prosper Robert, was one of the best watchmakers in Blois. His father wanted him to be a lawyer, but Jean wanted to follow into his father’s footsteps as a watchmaker.  Jean’s penmanship was excellent, and he obtained a job as a clerk for an attorney’s office. Instead of studying law, he tinkered with mechanical gadgets. His employer sent him back to his father. He was told that he was better suited as a watchmaker than a lawyer.

In the mid 1820s, Jean saved to buy a copy of a two-volume set of books on clock making called 'Traité de l’horlogerie' or Treatise on Clockmaking, written by Ferdinand Berthoud. The book seller had put the books off to one side for Jean. Later, he reached up to the shelf and grabbed the books. He wrapped the two volumes and handed them to the young aspiring clockmaker. However, when Jean got home and opened the wrapping, instead of the Berthoud books, what appeared before his eyes was a two-volume set on magic called 'Scientific Amusements'. Curiosity got the best of him and he did not return the books. From those crude volumes, he learned the rudiments of magic and practiced at all hours of the day. 

At a party, he met the daughter of a Parisian watchmaker, Monsieur Jacques François Houdin, who had also come from Jean Robert's native Blois. The daughter's name was Josèphe Cecile Houdin, and Jean fell in love with Cecile at their first meeting. On July 8, 1830, they were married. He hyphenated his own name to hers and became Robert-Houdin.

 Robert-Houdin discovered a shop on the Rue Richelieu and found it sold magic items. He visited the store frequently, which was owned by a Père (Papa) Roujol. There he met fellow magicians, both amateur and professional, where he engaged in talk about conjuring. He also met an aristocrat by the name of Jules de Rovère, who coined the term "prestidigitation" to describe a major misdirection technique magicians used. At Papa Roujol’s, Robert-Houdin learned the details to many of the mechanical tricks of the time - as well as how to improve them. From there, he built his own mechanical figures, like a singing bird, a dancer on a tightrope, and the famous Magic Turk Clock automaton doing the cups and balls trick (not the fake chess playing version). His most acclaimed automaton was his writing and drawing figure. He displayed this figure before King Louis Philippe and eventually sold it to P. T. Barnum.

The Magician and Horologist Suppresses Conflict;

His fame and skill did not escape the notice and fascination of royalty.  In 1856, he was asked by Louis-Napoleon to pacify the tribes in French Algeria. During this period, the French Army commanders maintained order in the newly pacified region. They supervised local Muslim administrations and the 'bureaux arabes'. These areas were closed off to colonization by the Europeans.

Napoleon III was worried about a religious tribe called the Marabouts. The Marabouts were able to control their tribe with their faux magical abilities. They advised their leaders to break ranks with the French. Napoleon wanted Robert-Houdin to demonstrate that French magic was superior.

The 'magical' mission began with an informal show at the Bab Azoun Theatre in Algeria, where he would give performances twice weekly. He also gave many special galas before the country’s tribal chiefs. He used The Light and Heavy Chest during these performances, but instead of playing it for comedy as he had in Paris, here he played it straight. The trick involved the use of a metal plate at the bottom of the chest, which was magnetised via an electro-magnet, making it impossible to lift when connected.  Robert-Houdin invited the strongest tribesman on stage and asked the Arabian to pick up the wooden chest placed on stage. The Arabian picked it up with no problem. Then Robert-Houdin announced that he was going to sap his strength. He waved his wand and declared, "Contempler! Maintenant vous êtes plus faible qu'une femme; essayer de soulever la boîte." "Behold! Now you are weaker than a woman; try to lift the box." The Arabian laughed at this, and with all of his might, pulled on the handle of the chest. But it would not budge! He tried and tried until he tried to rip it apart. Instead, he screamed in pain, as Robert-Houdin had rigged the box to give the Arabian an electrical shock if he tried to rip the handles off. The Arabian let go of the handle, ran off into the aisle, and ran screaming out of the theatre.  A variation of this event was included in the 2006 film 'The Illusionist'.

After his performances were done, he gave a special presentation for several chief men of their tribe. He was invited to the home of the head of the tribe of the desert interior, Bou-Allem. In the dawn of the Arab desert, Robert-Houdin was challenged to do a special trick. He obliged by inviting one of the rebels to shoot at him with a marked bullet, which he caught between his teeth. He was given a certificate from Bou-Allem, who wore a red robe symbolizing his loyalty to France. With this scroll praising his mysterious manifestations, Robert-Houdin went back to France with the mission of suppressing rebellion accomplished.

"The blow was struck," Robert-Houdin said, "...henceforth the interpreters and all those who had dealings with the Arabs received orders to make them understand that my pretended miracles were only the result of skill, inspired and guided by an art called prestidigitation, in no way connected with sorcery." He went on to say, “The Arabs doubtless yielded to these arguments, for henceforth I was on the most friendly terms with them." He was rewarded for his services of the French government by suppressing any possible rebellion.

Retirement and Death;

After his mission in Algeria completed, Robert-Houdin gave his last public performance at the Grand Théâtre in Marseille, then returned to his home in Saint-Gervais, near his native Blois, where he wrote his memoirs, 'Confidences d’un Prestidigitateur'. He also wrote several books on the art of magic. He lived happily in retirement for about fifteen years until the advent of the Franco Prussian War. His son Eugene was a captain in a Zouave regiment. On August 6, 1870, Robert-Houdin heard news of his son being mortally wounded at the Battle of Worth. Meanwhile, Hessians (soldiers) captured Paris and Robert-Houdin hid his family in a cave near his property. The Hessian soldiers were very rude, according to Robert-Houdin, but he found the Polish soldiers to be a lot kinder.

Four days later, Robert-Houdin was to find out that his son had died of his wounds. With the stress from that and the war, his health deteriorated and he contracted pneumonia. On June 13, 1871, he died of his illness, at the age of sixty-five.

                         Night Time Bombing Navigation ( Time Travel )


During the 1930s the RAF invested heavily in navigation training, equipping their aircraft with various pieces of new apparatus, including an astrodome for assessing a star fix, and providing the navigator additional room in which to carry out calculations in an illuminated workspace. This system was put into use at the start of WW2, and was initially regarded as successful. In reality, the early bombing effort was a complete failure, with the majority of bombs landing miles away from their intended targets. Night time bombing navigation presented particular and obvious problems.

The Germans deployed a navigational system known as the 'Knickebein' (German for 'crooked leg'.)  However, this was ultimately defeated by British scientists. The German airforce developed another device called the 'X-Gerät' (X-Apparatus.) Unlike the Knickebein beams, which could be received by any German bomber using its Blind Landing set, the X-Gerät beams required special equipment and were used by a path-finding specialist unit, 'KGr 100' 'Kampfgruppe 100'.  Kampfgruppe generally referring to any combat group/formation but with the r on the end of KGr, belonging to the LuftWaffe.

In the following example, Coventry (map left) which was the subject of intense pathfinder bombing, is used to illustrate the navigational system.

The X-Gerät used four main beams. A Directional Beam, or the Pilot's Approach Beam, was laid exactly over the centre-line of the target city from the transmitter site near Cherbourg. This beam was code-named "Weser" (a German river.) Three other cross-beams, code-named "Rhein," "Oder," and "Elbe," were transmitted to cross the main beam at pre-set intervals before reaching the target. Path-finders, would take off from the airfield at Vannes in Britanny and fly 150 miles towards Cherbourg. Over Cherbourg the Pilot's Approach beam would be intercepted and received by the aircraft. The beam was very complex, because it was actually two beams overlapping each other -- a course and a fine. The coarse beam was wide and easy to locate. Once the pilot was flying along the coarse beam, he would eventually align the plane with the fine beam, which was much narrower, with an equi-signal zone about 20-30 feet wide. These beams were of the same 'Lorenz' (an earlier navigational version) characteristics as Knickebein's, but were monitored visually instead of aurally. The pilot and the navigator had visual "kicking" meters that would indicate if the bomber went astray from the centre of the Weser fine beam to either left or right. At this point the pilot's only concerns were to keep the aircraft accurately aligned with the beam, adjust for wind drift, and stay in given altitude.

                                            The Rainham War Memorial


commemorates the fallen of both World Wars as well as civilian casualties of World War II. The monument is a clock tower in the centre of the town of Rainham, Essex, London, England. It is constructed of red Belgian brick, with Portland stone dressings. There is also a cast stone ornamentation. The memorial is a hexagonal short tower with clock dials on three of its sides. On a sloping base, the names of the war dead are inscribed. In addition, stone blocks inscribed with "Lest We Forget" are positioned at angles to the tower.

There are also inscription panels on the sides of the monument. Narrow pilasters decorate the angles of the clock tower. Arches are present over a niche and doorway. The top of the clock tower features a parapet with balustrade. Iron railings surround the memorial, which is prominently sited between Broadway and Upminster Road in front of Saint Helen and Saint Giles, the parish church of Rainham.

The Rainham War Memorial was built in 1920. It was unveiled by Colonel Sir Francis Henry Douglas Charlton Whitmore (1872–1962) on 7 November 1920. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Essex from 1936 to 1958.The Rainham War Memorial was added to the National Heritage List for England on 25 March 2002 as a Grade II listed structure.

One of the soldiers represented on the monument is Second Lieutenant Ralph Luxmore Curtis (left) a World War I flying ace credited with fifteen aerial victories. A native of Rainham, Essex, the nineteen-year-old engaged in aerial combat with Hermann Göring, commander of Jasta 27 and future head of the Luftwaffe.

On 21 September 1917, pilot Second Lieutenant Ralph Curtis and his observer Second Lieutenant Desmond Uniacke engaged in aerial combat with pilot Hermann Göring, commander of Jasta 27, over Sleyhage, near Roeselare, West Flanders, also known as Roulers.

Curtis was piloting Bristol F.2b (A7224). At 09:05, their Bristol Fighter was shot down by Göring. Uniacke was captured and became a prisoner of war. Curtis died that day in a German dressing station from the wounds that he had sustained in the combat.

Curtis was initially interred at Hooglede Ost German Military Cemetery in Hooglede, West Flanders. In 1924, his remains were transferred to Harlebeke New British Cemetery in Harelbeke, West Flanders, Belgium.

The inscription on his headstone reads:
"Second Lieutenant R.L. Curtis Royal Flying Corps 21 September 1917 Age 19 Sans Peur Et Sans Reproche (Without Fear And Beyond Reproach)"

Along with medals, clocks were often presented as tokens of gratitude for service given.

Following the Boer War 1899 to 1901, men from Helensburgh, Argyll, Scotland, who gave 'patriotic service' were rewarded with carriage clocks. The Provost, of Helensburgh, Colonel William Anderson, during a coming home reception in 1901, said that '.. the purpose of the coming home reception was to express goodwill and gratitude for their actions, and to ask them to accept a token of their recognition of their services...' The Provost said that a carriage clock, would be sent to each of them. In fact they were presented personally at a ceremony in the Municipal Buildings in November of that year.

The clock was made to a special design by Messrs Elkington & Co. of London of oxidised silver and brass. Above the dial is a reproduction of the burgh coat of arms, with South Africa and 1899-1901 on either side. At the foot of the dial is an Argyll and Sutherland Highlander, a field gun, and an Imperial Yeoman.

The inscription reads: “Presented to ………………………. in recognition of patriotic service in the South African Campaign — June 1901.”

The local Helensburgh officers and NCOs who served in the campaign were: Lieutenant J.Maxwell Gillatt, Sergeant Farrier William Neilson, Sergeant Daniel L.Porter, Lance-Sergeant John McNicol, Corporal John Hamilton, Corporal A.A.Stuart Black, and Corporal George S.Maughan.

In 2012 information about two of the clocks came to light. Richard Johnson from Edenbridge in Kent  was researching the history of the clock which was presented to Private McKinlay. He stated;

“I volunteered to help with research into this fine antique clock... I think the main area of interest revolves around the fact that such a fine clock was presented to a Private. He must have been very highly regarded locally.'

Private McKinlay’s clock is in pristine condition and was on sale in Edinbridge at £5,650. However in April 2013 it was bought by the Trust for £5,000. Information about the second clock came from Mrs Mairi Gallagher in Rhu. There is damage to the face of this clock and it would not be so valuable.

She said: “It was presented to my great grandmother’s brother, John Westwood McCulloch, and it is on my mantelpiece and still works!

The story had a sad ending. Another relative, David Walker Coutts, died in South Africa about 1900, while Trooper McCulloch died at home in 1906 at the age of 30, having never married.

Mairi added: “The family story is that he was traumatised by the war and was never the same when he came home.”

The clocks originally cost ten guineas each, and the total cost to Helensburgh Town Council was £261, including a plaque which was erected in the Municipal Buildings and is still there.

Kind courtesy of http://www.helensburgh-heritage.co.uk

                      Another 'Tommy' Just Doing His Duty

​Private Thomas Kenny of the 13th Durham Light Infantry, was a miner from Wheatley Hill, County Durham, England. He was the first  soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross during WW1.


Local Durham school children presented him with a marble clock, a pipe and some tobacco. They also read a poem to him;

Welcome, welcome once again 
Hero brave and bold 
To the school where you were taught 
In the days of old.

We the present pupils Of Wingate Catholic School 
Were pleased to hear 
When death was near 
You were so brave and cool.

For a superbly detailed description of how Private Kenny obtained his VC, please visit;  http://www.lightinfantry.me.uk/vckenny.htm




​Photo and story kind courtesy of 
http://www.thenortheastatwar.co.uk/in_your_town/durham/well-kenny-youre-a-hero

                      
              War veteran Reunited With His Watch 



A former Royal Navy Lieutenant has been reunited with the watch he lost during WW2. 

Mr Teddy Bacon, of Tarvin, Cheshire, lost his 'Bulova' watch while throwing a line from his ship, HMS Repulse to Gibraltar Harbour in 1941. He left his name and address with the harbour master but expected to never see it again. 

Mr Bacon said he was "amazed" when he received a parcel with a Gibraltar postcode and his watch inside. "I told my wife, you unpack it, and you will find out it isn't a present for you," he said. "Then out came my watch complete with everything, exactly as it had been when it disappeared. "It's exciting to have an old friend, I won't lose it again." 

The American brand watch made by the Bulova Company, which he was informed had been underwater and immersed in mud, is still working and telling the time perfectly. Mr Bacon added: "Remembering what my father said, nothing is lost until you are certain it's left the planet. Well it didn't leave the planet, it's back." 

                                    St Luke's Church Clock Illuminated in Memoriam




These images are of a striking war memorial to the fallen of WW1 and WW2.  It is situated in Ironbridge, Shropshire, England.

My husband Steve and I recently visited to celebrate our anniversary, and felt this remarkable statue warranted an entry into the archive. Please note the information relating to how the church clock was utilised for remembrance below. The memorial is set close to the magnificent iconic Iron Bridge




This memorial commemorates the men of Ironbridge who gave their lives during the wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. The statue represents a life size sculpture of a soldier in full marching order. The soldier surmounts a pedestal.  It was designed by sculptor Arthur George Walker (1861–1939). 
The memorial was unveiled on the 8th March 1924 by Colonel A.N.B.Garrett










One of the plaques on the memorial reads as follows;

'In grateful and undying memory of the valiant men of Iron Bridge who laid down their lives in the Great War 1914-1918.

We thank our God upon every remembrance of you'.









The rear view of the memorial with St Luke's church clock in the background.





















The following inscription is proudly displayed;

'The Church Clock was illuminated as a memorial to the following men of Ironbridge who lost their lives during the 1939-1945 war'.

           Somme, Mud Encrusted Trench Watch Stopped on 1 December 1915.

The following entry is by very kind courtesy of Clare Murton and the Trust of St Agnes Museum in Cornwall.

This poignant image of a Trench Watch - which has been kindly contributed by St Agnes Museum in Cornwall - records the moment on 1 December 1915, when Lieutenant Harold Llewellyn Twite, was tragically killed in action at the Somme in northern France. His comrades sent his belongings (the timepiece still being covered in mud from the Somme) back home to his widow, Mrs Lucy Muriel Twite, in Sutton, Surrey, England. 

Lieutenant Twite was working overseas as a mining engineer when war was declared. He returned home to sign up and was seconded to the 183rd (Tunnelling) Company of the Royal Engineers. An expert in digging tunnels and sinking shafts, Lieutenant Twite was put in charge of a team of Cornish miners. The team's job was to tunnel under the German trenches in northern France to lay explosives. His team had just retreated in December 1915, after setting a series of charges, when the enemy detonated a huge mine. The blast killed him and four of his fellow countrymen.


Clare Murton, speaking on behalf of St Agnes Museum, informed PrimeTime of Exeter that the items which were sent back to Mrs Twite by his comrades, were not in fact lost or unknown at any point (as reported in recent newspaper articles). Although it is true that Mrs Twite, could not bear to look at them. Ms Murton continued' '...When the sack containing the articles arrived at Mrs Twite's house in January 1916, she was apparently (and understandably) too distraught to open it, and put it away unopened.

When Mrs Twite moved from Sutton back to Cornwall, the sack was kept in the attic there along with other memorabilia. When she died in 1958, her daughter kept all items relating to her father (as agreed with her brother and sister). She had opened the sack and looked at the contents, and had shown it to her own children (including Mr David Chilcott [Lt Twite's Grandson] who gave the items to the museum) at least once.

          
          Lieutenant Harold Llewellyn Twite. Killed in action 1 December 1915 aged 36.
                                Both images copyright The St Agnes Museum Trust

When Lt Twite's daughter died in 1987, David, as the eldest son, took over all her father's belongings, and stored them in his attic. He showed the sack and its contents to his siblings, his children and several other family members at one time or another. Prior to his contacting the museum in 2013, he had polled all six other grandchildren, and they agreed unanimously as to the appropriateness of all their Grandfather's memorabilia  being donated to and offered for display in St Agnes museum'.  Please see below for more fascinating contributions from St Agnes Museum.


         

         WW1 Brass Alarm Clock Belonging to Military Cross Hero.


These images and information have also been graciously donated by St Agnes Museum, Cornwall.



George Henry Keast M.C. (1884-1959)


After serving as a non-commissioned officer, George Henry Keast was commissioned in 1916 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery. In 1917 he was awarded the Military Cross:

“For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. For two consecutive days he showed great courage and skill in maintaining telephonic communication between our attacking infantry and Headquarters, though exposed to heavy shell and machine gun fire all the time.”

Keast was promoted to Lieutenant in May 1918 and in 1921 retired as Honorary Captain.
A keen sportsman, he had represented the Army at football and hockey.

After retirement he took a keen part in village life in St. Agnes Cornwall and was Chairman and later Vice-President of St Agnes Association Football Club and Vice-President and Honorary Life member of St Agnes Silver Band.

He was a committee member of the St Agnes St John Ambulance Division and served in the Home Guard in World War II.









The image here depicts the Brass Alarm Clock that accompanied George Keast throughout various campaigns during WW1. You can see the straight alarm hand just past the 4 o' clock position. The clock remains in very good condition. it is likely the clock would have originally had a leather travelling case.















The reverse angle depicting the alarm mechanism. The word 'Wecker' is visible, meaning alarm in German.





















                   

                       images copyright The St Agnes Museum Trust

                                        Another Time Another 'Day'.

This is The story of the 'Day' Family's voyages to and from HongKong and their life in the colony. 1910 - 1915.  It is taken from the excellent blog of M J Fouracre (nee Day) Thomas Roebuck Day's Great Granddaughter, who found this diary in a box of old photos after the death of her Grandfather in 1981

This excerpt is taken from the diary entry of 22 November 1912 on a trip to Canton;

'Once we started we moved along at a rapid pace.  We first visited the 500 Genai or gods, each one representing something.  Well do I remember the god of plenty.  He was a big fat, jolly looking fellow.  While we were looking at the Gods the Chinese priests were chanting and playing most wierd instruments & tom toms & burning Joss-sticks.  We again took our seats in our Chairs & was again hurried through the streets; I shall never forget they were so narrow, you could stand in the centre & touch the houses on either side, so our chairs took the whole width of the street & we were 20 in number.  We visited one or two Temples and Joss houses,  also the British Yamen, where we heard the noted & most remarkable echo.  Upon speaking the echo would repeat most distinctly 3 or 4 times, this was between two large walls, which appeared to be ruins.  This Yamen was taken by the British many years ago because the French took one at that time. 



Thomas, Marian, Hedley and Freddie Day, 1910 Plymouth, England

We next paid a visit to the 9 Storey Pagoda, called the Flower Pagoda, it was most interesting.  We then visited the ancient Water Clock.  This was  the only clock in Canton at one time.  It is simply 3 tubs one above the other & the water dripping from number one into number 2 & thence into number 3 & the water raised a float at the top of which is a long spill marked off into degrees, & so the time was announced to the inhabitants of Canton every two hours, by the singing of a large Bell'.

for more illuminating insights into the life of the Day family visit; http://thedaytriptohongkong1910-15.blogspot.co.uk and @DaloDallenger Please also see the entry in our Time Capsules page.

Water clocks, along with sundials, are likely to be the oldest time-measuring instruments.

Where and when they were first invented is apparently unknown, and given their great antiquity there may never be a definitive answer.

The bowl-shaped outflow is the simplest form of a water clock and is known to have existed in Babylon and in Egypt around the 16th century BC.

Other regions of the world, including India and China, also have early evidence of water clocks, but the earliest dates are less certain.

Some reports claim that water clocks appeared in China as early as 4000 BC.



Left is the water clock at Canton visited by the Day family.

                        Time in Memorial

As a way of commemorating those who had died in the Great War, public clocks were specifically built by four New Zealand communities – Blenheim, Waipawa, Waverley and Taradale.

This memorial clock set in beautiful surrounding landscape in Taradale, was unveiled in December 1923.  It remained undamaged by the devastating Hawke’s Bay earthquake of 1931.






Image courtesy of http://www.teara.govt.nz

    '...I’m going to have that clock...'


The following account is by kind courtesy of Mr Paul Nixon from his excellent blog at http://worldwar1veterans.blogspot.co.uk which archives interviews from WW1 veterans detailing their experiences during the Great war;

820437 Gunner Alfred Willis, Royal Field Artillery; '... Then there was another bit an’ all when we was guarding a big ammunition dump [Ypres}. So this English one was a small scouting plane, only a young pilot, he were only eighteen. They must have trained him well at that age... this little scout plane of ours he got right up in the sky over the top of him and he peppered him [the German plane] from there, and fetched it down just in line with our dump. We went across to see what we could do and it crashed. We expected to see a ball of flame but it didn’t. It were all smashed up and we could see there were two in it: one were the pilot and I presume one were the pilot or the navigator, something like that.

The pilot were still alive but he didn’t live long. He’d been shot right through the wrist by this scout of ours so he lost control over it and crashed. But the other chap, he were dead. Must have been hit up in the air. We tried to get ‘em out – well we knew it were no good trying to get the one that was dead – we got the other one out eventually. The scout plane that was after him couldn’t come down because it was all barbed wire but about two or three fields away he come down and he come across. He says, thank God I’ve got him.

As soon as he’d come down, when there was nobody there, I thought to myself I’m going to see if I can get his camera. Well I didn’t know where they had the cameras. I couldn’t find it so I got into the remains of the cockpit and I thought, I’m going to have that clock. And I got the clock off the dashboard. They used to be in an aluminium case screwed to the dashboard. I got that off and the next day I heard rumours talking about that it was missing and nothing wasn’t to be touched. So it put the wind up me so I put it in an old tin and sealed it and buried it in the ground until things got quiet. I did get it home eventually but I can’t make out what happened to it; who had it. But it was a watch, specially made for the job.'

Above; A Typical Example of a WW1 RAF 'Smiths' Aircraft Cockpit Clock.









Left; A Typical Example of a WW1 German 'Luftfahrtruppen' 'Franz Watzl', Wien (Vienna) Cockpit Clock.




Please see the fascinating blog by Paul Nixon @OldSoldierSahib for many more moving and unique interviews.

                                               
                                          The Chimes of the Clyne

The community of Clyne, Broro, Sutherland, Scotland, pulled together to raise funds in order to restore the local War Memorial clock dial in time for the 100 year commemoration of World War I in August 2014.

The clock is one of Scotland’s most iconic war memorials. It has had a complete refurbishment by expert clock repairers and the local community, which had long campaigned for the clock to be upgraded, engaged clock makers Smith of Derby to oversee the full restoration.

The work was carried out on site and at the company’s James Ritchie and Son’s workshops in Broxburn, West Lothian, with the clock returned to Brora in time for August 2014.

Engineers have cleaned and restored the clock dials, with opal glass replacing the existing Perspex on the dials to return them to their original condition. The steelworks surrounding the clock were also cleaned and painted.

Tony Charlesworth, Smith of Derby Technical Sales Consultant, said: “The Brora war memorial is a beautiful construction and it is vital to the local and wider communities who visit it that the clocks are running to the correct time.”

The Brora War Memorial was built circa 1920 to commemorate those who gave their lives in World War I, and the clock famously chimes in time with Big Ben.

Story courtesy of http://www.smithofderby.com

  '...I think that man must have run off with my watch!...'


The following extracts are by very kind courtesy of @chrismiller and http://www.familyletters.co.uk  @FamilyLetters They are taken from letters written home by Richard (Dick) Berryman during WW1 (Dick is pictured left - centre of the picture) and represent a wonderful written snapshot, capturing moments that otherwise would have gone unrecorded.  Edited Excerpts from his letters below, include references to his gold-watch.  They are preceded by a short introduction from the grandson of one of the brothers;


'...My grandfather was one of 6 brothers all involved in different theatres of the First World War: one was in the navy at Jutland, another in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and the rest were scattered around France and India. They all wrote home to their mother who unsurprisingly kept their letters.  In the course of time my mother inherited them'.

In the 1970s my mother persuaded the Imperial War Museum to copy and transcribe the letters, and she then edited selections from the transcriptions and turned them into a book'. This is based on my mother’s description of them, written when she edited the letters for publication in the 1970s;


'...Dick, the eldest, is 16 and already something of a dandy with his light-coloured trousers belted by what appears to be a tie, a buttonhole and a generally casual air. By contrast Jim, just over a year younger, is still very much a schoolboy in his suit and cap, holding a bicycle. Ted, standing behind his mother, completes the trio of the three eldest boys.  Ben – Benedicta after her godmother – almost exactly a year younger than Ted balances the picture with another bicycle. In her full-sleeved blouse, Tam O’Shanter and button boots she looks like the heroine of an E Nesbit story'.

Letters home from Dick, 1916;

March 23 Karachi.

'Dear Mother.
No mail this week, but I daresay a letter will come Saturday. We are getting settled down here more or less, but it’s warming up. Ihad a long letter from Jane, she seems to be enjoying her new job & is happy. I have sent that gold watch home by a man who is sailing shortly, can’t think why I ever brought it out. Hope it arrives safe. No more now.
Yr loving son
Richard.

C/o Cox & Co
Karachi.
June 2.
Dear Mother
I think that man must have run off with my watch! Has'nt it turned up yet? Many thanks for your letter (May 11.) Who do you think I met the other day. Trelawney! Turned up here from Mesopotamia, he's S & T & was buying stores. He could'nt imagine I was Dick, he thought I must be Paul & he swears if I am Dick, I've grown younger! Nice eh? He has much improved & really quite nice looking in his old age.
Many thanks for the Bystander, but you'll know by now I'd like an overseas Daily Mirror or Sketch the best.
Trelawney had lunch here yesterday & we had a huge buck over old times in the club bar till about 2 o'clock the other night. He seemed most keen about Dreda's welfare.    He sent his love to everyone.
So hot & dusty wind today. Rotten- Must stop as I'm sweating so.
Love to all
yr loving son        
Richard.


Karachi. Friday 9th.
Yes see about Miss Sparrow.
Dear Mother.
Many thanks for your letter May 17. That man has never sent my watch yet. Hope he has'nt run away with it! Trust he has only forgotten. I am glad you like the photographs. Who I wonder told you about a doctor in No 1. G.H, I much prefer the men in it to the fellows in ours. I hear from Evelyn that she had been down to tea on a Sunday. I am so glad you like her. Rather nice for you being at Aldershot.I got the two letters all right; many thanks. One of them very welcome, about some money that was owed to me. It's dreadful about Kitchener. We heard the day after, I wonder what everyone thinks at home about it. Just at present it's very very hot here. Always is they say before the Monsoon breaks. Ted says he may be able to get down here next month. I've told him we'll be delighted to see him, but he may find it a bit hot. Anyway it will be cooler than it is now.I've just had most awful bad (not really as bad as some) prickly heat. Such a nuisance, & I'm so angry, as it's just like a beginner I say, not like an old Anglo-Indian like I am.

Fancy seeing Dumps Morse again. I have'nt seen her for years! You might send me (don't get excited or flurried about it) my ventriloquist doll, as there are crowds of kids here and I'd like to amuse 'em one afternoon. Stick him in a strongish box & send it by the mail. I expect the man in that Express luggage shop near the station will tell you the best way, or write to the Eastern Express Co (can't find address) they are as good as anyone & they have a depot in Karachi. Put in the box too, some of those white shirts of mine with R.B on the front and also my blue uniform.Ask Jane to send me some new songs if there are any. There is some money of mine still knocking about. She has some anyhow. I am putting in some photographs which Trel took the other day,funny I should meet him, is'nt it! Did Evelyn sing the other Sunday, does'nt she sing well? She liked you awfully.I must stop & catch the mail. Best love to all.

Yr loving son
Richard.
I see the Malaya arrived in time to do some fighting, how pleased Paul must be.


c/o Cox & CoKarachi. June 23.
Dear Mother-
Many thanks for yours & the bystanders & tatlers. I will expect the Camera. It has not arrived yet. You must excuse a short letter as I have left it so late & I must catch the mail. Blow that man for not sending the watch. But I saw a friend of his tother day, he says he is sure he will post it in the end. Hope he does! You say you must go to bed it's long after 11.30, it's not really it's 10.30 is'nt it?
Best love to all
yr loving son
Richard.'

Please visit http://www.familyletters.co.uk for more emotive and emotional letters home.

                                               A Stitch in Time...
                        (Spinning a Yarn about Guerilla Knitters' Warfare)

A story of local pride, determination and generosity, kindly contributed by Yvonne Webster to PrimeTime for our archive.

'Years ago the Chesham Town Hall with its clock tower was demolished to make room
for road changes. A scaled down version of the clock tower was built in what is now
known as the Market Square, and a big new Town Hall built.

In 2013 the bell from the original tower was found in an old garden shed. The bell
was given to the Chesham Museum. Stirling Maguire, a trustee of the museum, decided
in April 2014 that the bell should be hung in the replacement clock tower. Stirling
raised £8000 very quickly from charitable donations to pay for a cradle to be built
to house the bell, and for the bell to be hung. The work was planned and completed
by the end of July.

On August 4th 2014 a service of commemoration was held for the dead of Chesham in
WW1 as well as the inauguration of the bell. At 12:00 noon the bell chimed for the
first time to start the service. The name of each of the war dead of Chesham was
called out and the bell struck once for each person. This was followed by a multi-
faith service which included an Imam, a baptist, a member of the Jewish community, and others.

The event was attended by 500 people. Families of the war dead were invited
to leave flowers at the clock tower. Balloons, each labelled with the name of one
of the war dead, were released. 

Local guerrilla knitters and crocheters decorated the town with poppies, including a bollard cover, hoardings covered in crocheted cobwebs with poppies, a wreath of
crocheted poppies, and strings of poppies round the war memorial'.






Left: 500 red balloons released to honour the heroes of Chesham who gave their lives during the Great War.

The Chesham War Memorial adorned with strings of poppies, courtesy of the Guerilla Knitters.

Chesham’s Memorial is dedicated to those who died in both the World Wars. It is in the centre of The Broadway.   The World War One memorial commemorates the 188 Chesham men who fell between 1914 and 1918. The striking stone statue was designed by Arthur George Walker who placed it such that the sun would shine on the soldier's face all day.

The memorial is one of seven of a similar design, the others being located at Dartford, Heston, Hounslow, Ironbridge (see our entry from Ironbridge) Sevenoaks and Wolverhampton.

Only the Chesham and Heston memorials are sculpted from stone, the others being cast in bronze. The statue was unveiled on the 14th July 1921.

The memorial plaque reads:

TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS TOWN WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES AND TO HONOUR ALL WHO SERVED OR SUFFERED IN THE CAUSE OF GOD KING AND COUNTRY THEIR DEEDS LIVE AFTER THEM
FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH
1914-1918

(for a full roll of honour visit http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Buckinghamshire/Chesham.html )

            The Resilience of a Clockmaker during War Time

Gillett & Johnston, clockmakers.

William Gillett was the original founder of the firm.  He first began as a clock maker in Hadlow, Kent.  He moved to Croydon where he established his business in 1844. Charles Bland became a partner around 1854 and brought his skills as a salesman to the company and it was through his influence that turret and public clocks were first introduced to the business.  The company was one of the first steam-powered clock factories in the world and in 1868 the iconic clock tower (left) at the factory was built as a working advertisement. Each of the clock dials was different and unique, being hand finished by skilled workmen.

Arthur Johnston bought a partnership in the firm in 1877 and the firm became known as Gillett, Bland & Co until Charles Bland’s death in 1884 when the company name was changed to Gillett & Co.  During this time the business was further extended with the development of the Bell Foundry as there was a need to supply bells for the clocks.

The title 'Gillett & Johnston' appears to have been used from around 1877 onwards and it was during this period that Arthur Johnston took over full control of the foundry.

During WW1, the factory adapted, installed suitable machinery and was involved in the manufacture of munitions.  An extension was necessary as the output rose to nearly 40,000 fuses per week, which required the employment of over 1,250 men and women working day and night.  

The factory was ordered by the Director General of Munitions Supply to make Fuses, Caps, Safety pins and Fitted Holders. The factory utilised women workers for the first time, and, (although women were employed in factory work prior to WW1) it is generally accepted that this period became a pivotal and liberating experience for Women.  They were also able to benefit from the freedom and the level of wages that only men had enjoyed up to then.   Although Munitions factories were considered dangerous, precarious places to work - as work involved coming into contact with TriNitroToluene (TNT) the work was highly paid and caused a lot of women to leave their previous work in domestic service. 
​


Women munition workers sorting shells during WW1 (courtesy TUC Collections, London Metropolitan University)

Women workers became known as 'canaries' due to the yellow tinge that affected their skin as a result of long term exposure to the sulphur in TNT.  It is believed 400 women died from over-exposure to TNT during WW1; however Gillett & Johnston were predominantly involved with manufacturing fuses and fuse caps.

Women employed in munitions factories - popularly known as 'Munitionettes' - have become largely the established face of women workers in WW1.  Over 700,000 women worked in the munitions industry in England during WW1, with Munitionettes producing 80% of the weapons and shells used by the British Army.  According to Gillett & Johnston archives, In an order from the Director General of Munitions Supply on 26th Jan 1916, 500 no.18 mark III fuses were ordered.  On 7th March 1916 200 no.18 mark II were ordered as well as 300 fuse caps, 300 safety pins & 35 fitted holders. On 29th March 1916 15000 fuses no. 106 design were ordered, and on 23rd Oct 1916 160000 fuses no.106 were ordered.  The orders increasing exponentially as the war progressed.

Arthur Johnston died in 1917, and his son Cyril had to return from France  where he had a special reserve commission in the Grenadier Guards to take over the running of the firm.

After the signing of the Armistice, the plant was restored to its peacetime occupation, and the extra space developed to support the war effort, adapted once again, and had specially designed machinery to manufacture bells, Turret and small clocks installed.

Between 1844 and 1950 more than 14,000 Tower clock installations were manufactured at the Croydon factory.  In 1925 the company became known as the Croydon Bell Foundry Ltd and in 1930 the name changed again to Gillett & Johnston Ltd.

Information by kind courtesy of Gillett & Johnston Co. http://www.gillettjohnston.co.uk

Near the apex, just below the steeply pitched roof, are the tower's 4.8 m (16 ft) diameter clock dials, one on each of the four facades. The mechanical workings of the timepiece were manufactured by the Verdin Company, and are set by the National Research Council Time Signal.
This interesting article appears in the Public Works & Government Services site of http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca


'Time passes, but certain key features of Parliament Hill remain unchanged. The clock in the Peace Tower, presented to Canada by the government of the United Kingdom to mark the 60th anniversary of Confederation, has been ticking in the heart of our capital since 1927. The original timekeeping mechanism built by British clockmakers no longer works and has since been replaced. The original mechanism is now exhibited inside a glass case in the observation area of the Peace Tower, visible to the public as they emerge from the elevator.

The clock faces have particular aesthetic value. They were assembled with great care and precision. The metal and glass faces are constructed of bronze segments bolted together.

The glass sections, slotted into the frame, are held in place by small bronze angles and bedded in putty. The hands are made of riveted aluminum.

The clock faces are driven by an electric motor. The master clock that controls the electric motor driving the hands is located on the fifth floor of the Peace Tower. This master clock is set according to the time of the atomic clock at the National Research Council in Ottawa.

The clock mechanism cannot be set back, as a consequence, when the clock is set back in the fall, a Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) employee stops the mechanism, located on the fifth floor of the Tower, and reactivates it an hour later. This time change is usually accomplished during the night.

To put the clock forward in the spring, all that needs to be done is to move the hand of the master clock on the fifth floor. When this is done, the timekeeping and chime mechanisms must be disconnected so that the chimes, set to sound every 15 minutes, do not ring during the process.'

                              A Horology Collection to Honour His Son Killed in Action WW2.


An outstanding collection of clocks and watches and their related story deserves its entry into this archive.



The original museum collection was founded upon the Gershom Parkington Collection, bequeathed to the Borough of  St Edmundsbury, in 1953 by Frederic Gershom Parkington, in memory of his son John, who was killed in the Second World War. The collection included sundials, clocks, watches, mechanisms and clockmakers' equipment. Additions have continued to be made ever since, and it was one of the finest public collections of time-measurement instruments in the world. His will bequeathed the clocks etc as follows;

''...all time pieces and books relating to the measurement of time in memory of his son John Gershom Parkington who  was killed in the last war. Dated 22/12/1951."

Frederic conducted the local orchestra at Bridlington Spa for a time, and broadcast for the BBC for almost thirty years. Professionally, he always used the name Gershom Parkington. He was so popular that in 1934, W D and H O Wills included him as number 15 of their series of 50 Cigarette Cards called "Wills Radio Celebrities."

Frederic was born in 1886, seven years after the rest of his brothers and sisters. His parents gave him the name Gershom from the Bible, where it is said to mean 'a little surprise', although he used to say afterwards that it really meant ‘the unwanted one'.

As a hobby, Gershom Parkington bought rare clocks, watches, sundials and sand-glasses, largely through a specialist dealer named Percy Webster, of Queen Street, Mayfair, and built up a notable collection with a national reputation.

It was this collection which he left to the town of his birth on condition that it was named the John Gershom Parkington Memorial Collection. Frederic died on 23rd January 1952, in Jersey. 

His son John, pictured left, was with The Royal Corps of Signalmen, and was killed in action on 8 April 1941, at Libya, when 2nd Armoured Division were caught in a pincer movement by both Panzers and the Italian Army. He is buried at Alamein Memorial Cemetary in Libya.









John Gershom Parkington killed in Action WW2
                     (1920-1941)

Regrettably, the collection (in the face of great protest) was dismantled and dispersed to other local museums.  From 2007 there is a new gallery displaying some of the clock collection to be found in Moyse's Hall Museum, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England.

This Lantern Clock is a typical example of that to be found in the collection.

During my time on BBC Radio Devon, we held a competition to find the oldest clock in Devon, England. The winner was a local Lantern Clock circa 1650 (Cathy).

The typical Lantern Clock is made of brass, and resembles the shape of the old lanterns, and it is assumed that its name was derived from this similarity. 'Haggar and Miller' ('Suffolk Clocks & Clockmakers' by Arthur Haggar and Leonard Miller 1974) are inclined to doubt this theory, preferring a derivation from the old term for brass, which was "latten" or "latten metal." They cite old wills which refer to latten clocks specifically.











Image and information courtesy of Mr D Addy http://www.stedmundsburychronicle.co.uk

                     
                    The Fascinating Mystery of 'Findlaters Clock'

“Head south over London Bridge, towards Borough High Street, the old coaching road to Kent. Southwark cathedral crouches to the right and the clumsy bulk of the station’s viaduct looms ahead. Look for a once-splendid, once-white façade: an elaborate blend of arch, balustrade and ornament, with carved swags of hops, grapes and even a stag’s head. Now grey with soot, this, like Miss Havisham’s wedding-cake, is a ghost of a building". 

These are the opening words to one of the chapters from the intriguing book,  ‘The Final Whistle: the Great War in Fifteen Players’ by Mr Stephen Cooper @GreatWarRugby who drew our attention to a very mysterious tale relating to this imposing clock.  The tale has also been exhibited on http://londonhistorians.wordpress.com as a guest posting;


"A London Bridge mystery, demystified". 10 March, 2013 by Mike Paterson;
A Guest Post by Stephen Cooper."

"In research for my book of the Great War told through the experiences of men from one London rugby club, I stumbled across a neglected landmark with a poignant tale. In 2010 I wrote these opening words for a chapter:

“Head south over London Bridge, towards Borough High Street, the old coaching road to Kent. Southwark cathedral crouches to the right and the clumsy bulk of the station’s viaduct looms ahead. Look for a once-splendid, once-white façade: an elaborate blend of arch, balustrade and ornament, with carved swags of hops, grapes and even a stag’s head. Now grey with soot, this, like Miss Havisham’s wedding-cake, is a ghost of a building.

The hands of its clock with black Roman numerals are fixed at 11.47 as they have been since the early 1960s. Ragged shrubs sprout from crevices where no plant should grow, and the faïence frontage offers a tempting canvas to the graffiti artist. This wan face among grimy walls and thrusting plate-glass neighbours like the Shard is a ghostly survivor from another era. It is a corner of the capital where time has indeed stopped.

For over a century, Findlater’s Corner has been a familiar sight to the southbound City worker, ‘passed or seen by more persons every day than any other spot in London’*. The current structure is shrunken from its Victorian original by the encroachments of railway and advertising hoardings. Peter Ackroyd’s London the Biography observes the lingering spirit of place that binds many capital landmarks to their past. Call this instead a ‘place of spirit’, for today it is a branch of an eccentric national wine-seller, evoking its first incarnation in 1856 as headquarters of Findlater, Mackie, Todd & Co. Ltd, Wine & Spirit Merchants.

In the cruellest month of April 1915, a boy brings a curt telegram from the War Office to these same premises, addressed to the Chairman. Its formulaic words, by now dreaded in households across the country, regret a death in the family. A brother, husband and father are all fallen in one man. Since that day another spirit has haunted this corner: the gregarious wine-merchant, soldier and international rugby player, Alec Todd.”

The chapter goes on to tell of Todd’s experience as a British Lion rugby player in South Arica in 1896, of his fighting the Boer War there four years later and of his death near Ypres in 1915. He had nominated his brother, James, as Next of Kin (NOK) so that wife Alice would not hear the fateful knock at her Ascot door. He was shot through the neck at Hill 60 east of Ypres on April 18. The National Archive shows a flurry of telegrams from the War Office to the Norfolk Regiment depot to ascertain the correct NOK. By the time the ‘serious wounding’ telegram arrives at Findlater’s Corner three days later, CaptainTodd is dead in a Casualty Clearing Station near Poperinghe.

The stopped clock was much photographed and internet searches revealed a history of graffiti headaches for the Council. The romantic in me speculated whether the telegram had arrived at 11:47 that April morning in 1915. Had the clock stopped perhaps on the 50th anniversary of Alec’s death? No way of knowing, but it made a good story. That is, until October 27, 2012.

This was the afternoon, three months after the book’s publication, when riding over London Bridge on my trusty Vespa, I glanced up to find the hands at 02:30. Aghast, I enquired inside: ‘Ah, that would be Boris’, I was told. Turns out our esteemed Mayor, bicycling to a meeting at his nearby City Hall, had trusted the clock’s time, only to arrive late. In a fit of civic efficiency, he commanded that a Derby clockmaker be summoned to restore the clock and change the ‘hands of time’. Thanks, Boris. The story is too good to lose, but I have relegated the Mayor’s intervention to a footnote – by way of revenge.
Todd maintains his mystique even in death. He is buried in ‘Pop’ but is also named on the Menin Gate, memorial to those with no known grave. Better that he is doubly remembered than he, or any man, be forgotten."  Findlater clock Image is by kind courtesy of Mr Stephen May.

                                                                      Stop All the Clocks...
                                      Rosslyn Park unveils new War Memorial with 1914 vintage rugby game

Thank you to Stephen Cooper @GreatWarRugby and @rosslynpark for this wonderful image and information.

It is a memorable and heartfelt tribute organised by Stephen as Chairman, and from the team and fans to former players, and all from Rosslyn Park who gave their lives during WW1.

the ground's clock was stopped at this poignant moment during the game on 29 March 2014.

The following press release provides information on the historic day that took place;


 On 29 March [2014] Rosslyn Park FC will unveil a new Memorial to honour its 108 members who died in the First World War. The occasion will also be marked by a special Memorial Match, played in replica kit of the Great War era, with leather ball, and refereed to the 1914 Laws of the Game.  The unveiling will take place at 1130, before the club’s National League top-table clash against Doncaster Knights, which kicks off at 3pm. The 1914 game will follow this match at 5pm. The unveiling will be attended by Bill Beaumont, Chairman of the Rugby Football Union and former captain of England and the British & Irish Lions,  the Hon Justine Greening, MP for Putney and serving members of the British Army.  The new Memorial replaces the original which was mysteriously lost when the club moved in 1955 from Old Deer Park, Richmond to Roehampton. The story is told in the award-winning book ‘The Final Whistle: the Great War in Fifteen Players’ by Stephen Cooper. 

Research by the author has now uncovered 108 names, each of which will be read out by a broad selection of the club’s community, from mini players to past England internationals and by family descendants of those who died between 1914 and 1919. This will be followed by a minute’s silence and the Last Post.  

Geoff Bayles, President, Rosslyn Park said:
“This is a Club with a great past which we honour with this memorial, as well as a great future - both in a thriving National League 1st XV and with our thriving junior section, the biggest in the country. This occasion will help our younger generation to understand what this club stands for and, in this Centenary year of 2014, to appreciate the sacrifice made by so many men a century ago, when rugby players led on the battlefield, as they did on the sports field. This is a day when the Rosslyn Park family will come together to remember them.”
Very Kind Courtesy of Stephen Cooper @GreatWarRugby.

            Brave Hearts


The Hearts Football Team War Memorial, pictured left, in the 1920s and 1960s.

“There are football teams out there with much greater playing records than Hearts, but there isn’t a football team with anything like Heart of Midlothian’s record of horrible sacrifice.”

The words of historian Jack Alexander about the actions of a group of men 100 years ago will be endorsed by all those who support the maroon half of Edinburgh, and many others.


In the final months of 1914, as WW1 settled into its deadly stalemate and public opinion started to turn against footballers for playing on while others went to fight, Hearts players signed up en masse to the 16th Royal Scots - commonly referred to as ‘McCrae’s Battalion’. Hearts were the first football team to join up together, while players from Hibs, Falkirk, Dunfermline and Raith Rovers were among the others who also served.

By the end of the war, seven Hearts players - Duncan Currie, John Allan, James Boyd, Tom Gracie, Ernest Ellis, James Speedie and Harry Wattie - had all made the ultimate sacrifice. In 1922, in honour of the Hearts team and those they fought beside, a clock tower war memorial was built in the Edinburgh’s Haymarket. The memorial was moved five years ago to accommodate tram works. It was put in storage, and there were fears at the time that it may never return to Haymarket and be moved to another location in the city. But those fears never became a reality.  A spokesman for the City of Edinburgh Council said the re-instalment of the war memorial will take place at its old location at Haymarket in June. Further details will be announced by the local authority in the next few weeks. For Jack, a 50-year-old historian who has acted on behalf of Friends of Heart of Midlothian War Memorial - a campaign group which is committed to the return of the clock tower to Haymarket - it will be a special moment.  “I don’t think anybody, perhaps other than tie (Transport Initiatives Edinburgh), wanted the memorial to be removed from the junction at all,” he commented. “The most important thing is it is coming back. We are going to have a chance to reorientate it so it is pointing the right way this time, and put some nice landscaping around it. “It is important to me, as a historian, because it is visible in Haymarket. The people that built it put it there, and it is not our business 100 years later to second guess them. “It is arguably the busiest junction in Edinburgh. Everybody that goes past it sees it and that is something that we want to preserve.”

The war memorial remembers a Hearts team who, like everybody else, had their lives changed by the outbreak of war in 1914. Regarded as one of the best teams in Scotland at the time, two Hearts players - Geordie Sinclair and Neil Moreland - were called up the day after war was declared against Germany as they were army reservists. A few months later, Jimmy Speedie decided to volunteer. However, some members of the public, in the years before conscription, questioned why fit and healthy footballers were enjoying sport while other men were dying in the fields of France.

The Hearts team, pictured in 1914. Courtesy of Big Hearts Community Trust.

When Sir George McCrae raised a new battalion 13 more Hearts players decided to do their bit and enlisted together in November, 1914. Football did not stop, and after conscription was introduced in 1916 the Hearts team was made up of guest players, servicemen on leave, youths and men engaged in vital war work.

Alex Knight, a club archivist with Hearts, uncovered a song by T M Davidson and David Stephen called Hearts Lead The Way which captures the spirit behind those volunteering players:


When the Empire is in danger, and we hear our country's call,

The Mother’s land may count on us to leave the leather ball.

We've hacked our way in many a fray, we've passed and gone for goal,

But a bigger field awaits us, and we were keen to join the roll.

On July 1, 1916, McCrae’s Battalion fought alongside many others on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. That day remains the darkest in the history of the British Army, with 20,000 dead and 40,000 more injured. Three Hearts players were amongst those killed.Jack, the Director of the McCrae’s Battalion Trust, said: “In the First World War, Scotland lost a higher proportion of its young men than any other nation that took part. We forget that generation at our peril.“The houses those men lived in are still standing, their sons and daughters are still alive. It is very recent history and something the city of Edinburgh has a responsibility to remember with pride.“An old lady, whose father was in the battalion and died alongside the Hearts players in 1916, once said to me that the stones around the base of the clock tower are stained with tears of generations of people who stood there and had come to remember.”

Jack, who is not a Hearts fan, also believes the act of sacrifice by the Hearts players had far wider significance for the game of football in the UK.
He added. “In 1914, there was a completely unjustifiable campaign of vilification directed at professional footballers on the basis that they should play football while other men were serving at the front.“Then, just like today, a great many football teams were trading well above their capacity to pay their bills. If football had been suspended by the government, there is no doubt that a number of large clubs would have went out of business.“The enlistment of the Hearts players singlehandedly prevented football from being stopped. The very day the Prime Minister was being asked to stop the game in Parliament, the Hearts players joined up and the Prime Minister was able to mention in Parliament that the example in Scotland proved football didn’t need to be suspended.“There are big teams playing today, in English and Scottish football, that would not have been able to sustain the debts they were carrying if they weren’t able to play ever week.”

For Hearts fans, they are just pleased that their war memorial will soon be back at its Haymarket home.Bill Alves, Chairman of Heart of Midlothian Shareholders Association, has been attending games regularly since the 1970s. The 63-year-old said: “For me, the most privileged thing I am able to do as chairman of the shareholders is to lay a wreath there on Remembrance Day.“The memorial has been part of my life and Haymarket’s life for a long time. It is arguably Hearts’ proudest moment when the whole team volunteered to fight in 1914. It is part of Edinburgh, it is not just part of the club, so it will be great to have it back.”

Allan Black is a Hearts fan from Linlithgow. He is a retired army Major after serving for 23 years. He added: “It is almost unique, what it represents, and it is very important to the history and tradition of Hearts but also of the city of Edinburgh.“I am looking forward to the Remembrance Day gatherings being held with the memorial. The original location was chosen for its prominence and significance. No other location will provide the same honour to what it represents and to all the memories it engenders.“It has always been part of the fabric of Edinburgh and of the club, for me. The Remembrance Day gathering would not be the same elsewhere.”

Terry O'Donnell from the Federation of Hearts Supporters Clubs said: “The Federation fully supports the ethos of the clock and all that it stands for. We are glad to see the Memorial being returned to its rightful position.“The time however this has taken is nothing short of disgraceful. “I was first taken to the service by my late father when I was just a youngster and it helped me to understand exactly what being a supporter of the Heart of Midlothian was all about, pride, respect and comradeship.”

A special memorial to those who lost their lives in McCrae’s Battalion stands in Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery in France and is visited by football fans every year.

Story by Graham Fraser of http://news.stv.tvp://nfs.stvfiles.com Images from McCraes Battallion Collection.

                               WW1/WW2 Montilier Silver Pocket Watch.

Extraordinary example of how a matter of centimetres can mean the difference
between life and death! This image demonstrates how lives may have been saved by items that were being carried by  soldiers at the time.

It is more likely to be an example of Trench Art. The term "Trench Art" originates from a WWI-era French publication, which illustrated objects made from military equipment or spent war materials by “artisanat de tranchées” (craftsmen of the trenches). For more information on Trench Art please see: Steven Booth's wonderful site http://www.trenchartofww1.co.uk





The 'Fabrique d’Horlogerie Montilier', and the later 'Montilier Watch Co.' received many awards at world exhibitions; such as Paris 1878, & 1889, Liege in 1930 and Brussels in 1935. The quality of these watches was so high they became almost legendary.  Even military watches were manufactured by Montilier right through until the 1950’s.







                  The Montilier Watch Company Circa 1938

              Making The Railways Run on Time


Not the statement often misquoted and affiliated with Italy's dictator Mussolini, rather a worthy entry into this archive relating to the Santa Fe Railroad which was instrumental to troop and supply transportation during WW2. With thanks to www.americainwwii.com

''The biggest steam locomotives ever, were produced during the WW2 years. In 1944, the Union Pacific took delivery of Big Boy, the largest 'iron horse' in history at 132 feet long and 1.2 million pounds.

The entire railroad industry was in flux. Train traffic had been in decline since the 1920s due to the Depression, the proliferation of automobiles and the nationwide expansion of paved roads, the improved efficiency of the trucking industry, and the birth of the air age in the 1930s. The war gave railroads a fleeting opportunity to regain their glory.

Americans cut down on driving during the war, compelled by gas and tire rationing. When they needed alternative transportation, they often took the train. It didn’t take long for trains to become overloaded with vacationers, soldiers on furlough, and families traveling to visit loved ones at military bases.

A despatch worker at  the Atchison, Topeka Santa Fe Railroad offices Circa 1943.
Note the commanding regulator clock to the right of the picture, which appears to house the “Santa Fe Railway System Standard Dial”
with Montgomery* minute numbering that was unique to the Santa Fe line. (image courtesy of Shorpy/Pinterest.com)

*Henry S. Montgomery was Santa Fe Railway’s general watch and clock inspector from 1896 to 1923,
and by 1906 perfected a dial with upright minutes, from 1 to 60, printed on the outermost part of pocket watch and clock dials (see below).

Reservations for spots in Pullman sleeping cars were so hard to come by that 'scalpers' [touts] made a fortune buying and reselling them.

                              The Montgomery Marginal Minute Dial

The transport and movement of high volumes of troops and supplies on the railroads was vital during WW2. The timing of such movement was equally crucial.

Henry S. Montgomery was the General Watch and Clock Inspector of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) from 1896 to 1923. During the first decade of the twentieth century he patented a marginal minute dial that had three distinctive features (left). The patent has been lost, but the features of a true Montgomery Dial are known from Montgomery’s writings. Firstly, the marginal minute numbers were all upright, as opposed to radial numbers which were used on other dial designs. Secondly, the five minute numbers were slightly larger than the other minute numbers. Frequently, the five minute numbers are red, whereas the remainder are black. However, it is not known if the five minute numbers being red was a patented feature. Finally, the sixth hour figure is included, contained within the seconds bit. The sixth hour figure is generally unusual amongst pocket watch dials.

It is known that Montgomery's marginal minute dial appeared on Santa Fe Railway Clocks in 1900 and was subsequently applied to a variety of clocks. A notice in the Jewelers' Circular, posted by Robert Sweet, shows that Montgomery's dial was in use on watches accepted for railroad time service on the Santa Fe in late 1899. By 1906, it was being referred to as the AT&SF's standard dial, as evidenced by this extract:

Rule 4 - “Fancy” dials or those other than regular factory product, vis.: plain Arabic or Roman figures or the Company's standard dial are prohibited.
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, 1906 rules
Note: The "Company's standard dial" that the rule referred to was Montgomery's marginal minute dial.

Kind courtesy of: http://mb.nawcc.org

        Room For Manoeuvre

​During a recent visit to London we visited the Churchill War Rooms and experienced the underground hub of the Government WW2 command centre.

The Churchill War Rooms is a museum in London and one of the five branches of the Imperial War Museum. The museum comprises the Cabinet War Rooms, a historic underground complex that housed a British government command centre throughout the Second World War, and the Churchill Museum, a biographical museum exploring the life of  Winston Churchill. 
​

The 'Beauty Chorus'

​The nickname for the many telephones used within the Map Room of the Cabinet War Rooms

                                                              Taking a Bullet            

This is an image of a 'Full Hunter' pocket watch that is actually believed to have saved the life of an RAF servicewoman in World War Two - by stopping a bullet!

A perfect bullet-shaped crater is evident in the protective flip cover of the watch which also damaged the
11 o'clock marking on the watch dial.

The case of the watch is inscribed with the name 'Pte Hodgson' alongside the military number 2055250.
The final words on the case read: 'Farnboro Hants.'

Details of the female RAF Private are sketchy but official military records reveal Pte Hodgson was a woman who served in the auxiliary corps of the RAF which was responsible for maintenance and delivering newly built planes to military bases across Britain in 1941.

Military experts believe the bullet which caused the impact dent may be a 30mm calibre round - ammunition used in the MK108 auto-cannon which was mounted on German aircraft fighter planes.

It is believed this watch saved the life of Pte Hodgson as she was wearing it after the round ricocheted off the watch - which was traditionally worn in the breast pocket of service personnel.

Remarkably, the watch was found dumped in the bottom of a box which was donated to the Forces Support charity, in Leominster, Herefordshire, on Saturday, March 3 2012.

Another possibility is that  the watch was given to Pte Hodgson’s 'squaddie' sweetheart whose life could have been saved during a frontline battle.

The hunt continues for Pte Hodgson and a definitive conclusion to this fascinating mystery.  Should you have any information regarding Pte Hodgson and/or this fantastical timepiece, please contact us.

                                     The 'Attagirls'
      the unsung heroines of World War 2 and the Battle of Britain.
     Pictured here; the women of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA)

Between them, they delivered more than 308,000 aircraft from factories to airfields, also returning damaged aircraft for repair. Sometimes the ‘Attagirls’ would be given only 30 minutes with a handbook before taking off in an unfamiliar plane. Losses were considerable, with one in six becoming a casualty at one stage.

In their hastily adapted uniforms (one even had her jacket tailored in Savile Row) they became the darlings of the air – and the unsung heroines of the Battle of Britain. This was the forgotten army of women who broke through male-dominated prejudice to pilot the aircraft – and to deliver them for service in the front line. Only 164 women were allowed into the ATA.
Back then, they had to show plenty of determination to convince military bosses that women were up to the task. Once accepted however, they said, they were treated no differently from the men.

Winston Churchill and his government, never underestimated the Attagirls contribution, and Lord Beaverbrook declared: ‘They were soldiers fighting in the struggle just as completely as if engaged on the battlefront.’ 
                                                                                        

                                  Amy Johnson, English aviator 1903-1941.




One of the first women to gain a pilot's licence, Johnson won fame when she flew solo from Britain to Australia in 1930. Her dangerous flight took 17 days. Later she flew solo to India and Japan and became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic East to West. She volunteered to fly for The Women's Auxiliary Air Force in WW2, but her plane was shot down over the River Thames and she was tragically killed.








Image kind courtesy of Michele Dashwood Pinterest.com.

                                                                                America's ATA Known as 'Wasp' WW2.










                                                                               
                                                                        Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)


WASP were the pioneering organizations of civilian female pilots, employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces during WW2.

They were amalgamated from The Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) WFTD and WAFS were merged on August 5, 1943, to create the paramilitary WASP organization. The female pilots of the WASP ended up numbering 1,074, each freeing a male pilot for combat service and duties. They flew over 60 million miles in every type of military aircraft.The WASP was granted 'veteran' status in America in 1977, and awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.



Wrist watches used by aviators at altitude would encounter different and varying conditions to those of their ground based army counterparts.  Modifications were made to compensate for potential errors that may occur at speed and altitude.

Lieutenant Commander (Professor) Philip Van Horn Weems of the U S Navy, designed a watch with a rotatable subsidiary dial in the centre of the main dial, which could be synchronised with a sweeping seconds hand and a time signal (via a modified sextant). This option was used as an alternative to the 'hacking' device (the ability to stop the balance wheel in the movement by pulling out the crown and stem - which would stop the seconds hand - in order to synchronise the watch in accordance with an alloted, specific time.) The accuracy and quality of Weems' method of time keeping was notably superior.

These types of wrist watch were produced in large numbers by the Bulova, Elgin and Waltham watch companies throughout WW2. The Elgin Watch Company (a major American watch maker from 1864 until its closure in 1968) developed a synthetic watch oil with low solidification properties which permitted functionality in extremely low temperatures.
                                                                                                                                                                            

However, the Longines Watch Company were at the forefront of production, and also collaborated with Charles Lindbergh (who was a pupil of Weems) with the design of the 'hour angle' watch which modified Weems' innovation by allowing a pilot or navigator to determine the longitude accurately and reliably during flight when used with a sextant and a nautical almanac, by the hour angle of a given star. Please see Weems's design below.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                    
                                       A Tribute To Mr Stanley Simon,
                    Co-Founder of the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking.

Mr Stanley Simon,  passed away at the age of 93 in 2010. He was instrumental in the rehabilitation of American soldiers from WW2 onward. He co-founded the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking. The following tribute is by Margalit Fox of the New York Times:

'They had fought in Italy and Normandy and North Africa and left pieces of themselves behind. At war’s end, few employers would touch them. So one by one, the men made their way to New York — to a red-brick schoolhouse in Woodside, Queens, built expressly for them — to become watchmakers.

 

Stanley Simon, second from right, at a ceremony for a watchmaking school for injured veterans.

For more than half a century after it opened in 1945, the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking trained disabled veterans in the horologist’s painstaking art. The very idea of rehabilitating the severely wounded was just entering the national discourse then; in wars past, such men often languished in hospitals to the ends of their lives. The Bulova school, considered a model of its kind, was a noteworthy example of industry playing a crucial role in veterans’ rehabilitation. It became the basis for similar programs throughout the United States and around the world.

“A man does not have to be an athlete to repair watches,” Stanley Simon, one of the school’s founders, told The New York Times in 1946.

The school was the brainchild of Arde Bulova, then chairman of the Bulova Watch Company. Conceived near the end of World War II, it was named for his father, Joseph, who had founded the company in New York in 1875. Mr. Simon, Bulova’s industrial relations director, shepherded the school into being. Long before the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 made such amenities familiar, he oversaw the construction of a building specifically tailored to the needs of disabled people.

A handsome neo-Georgian structure designed by the Boston architectural firm Perry, Shaw & Hepburn, the Bulova school was on 62nd Street in Woodside. It had ramps and wide doorways to accommodate wheelchairs, and cork floors to give traction to crutches, among other features. In the lobby, murals depicted the history of timekeeping.

The school charged no tuition in its early years; the craft it taught could be performed sitting down and, most important, rendered its students fully employable. Within months of its opening, jewelers around the country had pledged more than 1,400 jobs to Bulova school graduates.

Mr. Simon also opened a branch of the school at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington; he later traveled to France to advise the French Red Cross on starting a watchmaking program there.

Stanley Simon was born in Manhattan on July 7, 1917. In 1936, at 18, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard. Afterward, he worked on Wall Street before joining Bulova in 1943.

On Aug. 23, 1944, a ceremony was held to lay the school’s cornerstone, inscribed, “To serve those who served us.” The next year, the school admitted its first class, about 20 men from across the country, who were housed with their families in apartments nearby. For most, as The New York Times later wrote, the school “was their first postwar experience outside hospitals.” Several students had lost legs. One, a former Brooklyn pipefitter named Ralph Padavano, had lost an arm: he was provided with a special prosthesis, which he helped design, that let him hold delicate watch parts without crushing them.

In 1946, after a year’s instruction, the men graduated. They were the first of many hundreds of graduates in the decades that followed, nearly all of whom went on to jobs in watch repair or allied fields like precision toolmaking.

In 1957, with the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Bulova school started the National Wheelchair Games, held for many years on the school’s grounds. Mr. Simon became a vice president of Bulova in 1950; after Arde Bulova’s death in 1958, he left the company to open an international business consultancy. A longtime trustee of the Bulova school, Mr. Simon served on many corporate boards, including those of Vornado Realty Trust and Marcal Paper. The Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking endured for more than 50 years. The Korean War brought new pupils. So did Vietnam. Over time, the school admitted disabled civilians and, eventually, the nondisabled; its curriculum was broadened to include jewelry making.

But by the end of the century, the waning demand for skilled artisans had made it impossible to hang on. The school closed in the late 1990s; the building is now home to the Queens stake (similar to a diocese) of the Mormon Church.

It was not so much that the school Mr. Simon helped found had outlived its usefulness. It was, rather, from all appearances, that it had fallen victim to the prevailing culture, in which what is broken is not repaired but simply cast aside'.

By kind courtesy of Margalit Fox;  http://www.nytimes.com

                 The Comfort of a Timepiece in War Time

Many people take comfort from the dependable, soothing tick, tick of their clock or watch.
The following story is taken from an interview at NBCTV in 2011, with Mr Charles Woehrle, of the United States Eighth Air Force, who spent two years as a prisoner of war in Germany, and took great comfort (as did his fellow prisoners) along the way from his timepiece. This story exemplifies the emotional attachment people, and especially those in the Armed Forces have with their timepieces.

Interviewer;

'we'll talk to charles in a moment. but first, his story;
In May 1943, Lieutenant Charles Woehrle was on a bombing mission off the coast of France when his b-17 came under attack.

Mr Charles Woehrle displaying the watch that helped him through the PoW camp.

His plane was hit and he started losing altitude. Lieutenant Woehrle had no choice but to bail out. He was captured and taken as a prisoner of war in Germany and held in Stalag Luft III at Sagan, East Germany.  “As we dropped the bombs,” explains Woehrle, “I followed them in my sights. They went down like a school of fish. When I looked up I saw a lot of flak. The Germans had us. We were hit, losing four of our crew. It was a sad, sad day.” Woehrle parachuted from the aircraft but was captured shortly afterwards by the Germans and taken to Stalag Luft III. Almost one year into his captivity Lt  Woehrle found a Patek Philippe promotional pamphlet with a small mail-in coupon for more information. Woehrle filled out the coupon and wrote a note requesting a watch for which he would pay when he got home after the war. He sent it off, not really holding out much hope.

Mr Woehrle admitted; ' ..I had kind of forgot about it. several months went by and one morning we got a knock on our door and here was this perfectly beautiful wristwatch'.

A letter was also included saying in part, 'we wish that this watch will give you full satisfaction'.

The arrival of the Patek Philippe provided a respite from the grinding, daily routine. Then came another, less welcome, change. In January, 1945, all the PoWs were abruptly moved to Stalag VII-A in Moosburg, Bavaria; the Russians were approaching. The men travelled by foot, nearly 70 miles, in the freezing cold. Woehrle spent a gruelling four months at Stalag VII-A. It was, he recalls, “a real concentration camp. A very wretched place”.

After General Patton liberated the camp, Woehrle returned to his home in St Paul, Minnesota, America, when he paid for the watch. However; 40 years later in an unfortunate twist, his home was burgled, his watch was among the stolen items. his niece Louise who has been working on a documentary about her 94-year-old uncle contacted the Swiss watchmakers. Lt Woehrle eventually received a replacement with a view to  restoring many memories of a time gone by. In an interview with CBN, he commented as follows;

Interviewer; Do you have the watch with you...

>> yes, but this is a replica of the one at the time?


The Patek Philippe (1461) worn by Woehrle while imprisoned.

>> it's very similar. although the early one was steel and this is gold.

>> Interviewer; what memories came flooding back when you received that watch?

>> well, the overwhelming aspect of what was happening at all. it was so unbelievably unlikely that such a thing would happen, and it did.

>> Interviewer; a lot of us when we heard your story were surprised that you were able to order a watch while in captivity and even to receive a watch. what was it like when you would wear that around the camp? what was the reaction? what did it mean to the other prisoners?

>> well, they would never get enough of the watch. i would be on the circuit walking and they would say, charlie, let me see that watch again. i would hold out my hand and show them the watch. and it would not only thrilling and overwhelming for me to receive it, but it effected the whole camp.

>> Interviewer (speaking to Lt Woehrle's Niece)

Louise, you were researching this documentary on your uncle's experience, this camp, which by the way was the camp where the great escape occurred. the watch kind of came along later in your research, didn't it?

>> it did. i had been shooting the documentary since 2009 , and we were returning from a Detroit reunion at the air force and i asked uncle Charles , i said, did you ever have a watch in camp. he said, let me tell you about a watch. i thought i had heard every story. and i heard it for the first time. and i couldn't believe it. it was such a joyful, hopeful story. and i was very excited about that.

>> Interviewer; and, Charles , you were surprised to receive the watch in the first place.

>> i was --


Woehrle (2nd from right) with his bunkmates in Moosburg, Germany after the 70 mile March from Stalag Luft III

>> Interviewer; the commandant wasn't going to allow you to have it.

>> it was four months. i had forgot about it. you put it in the mail. it's so dull in prison camp you're just looking for something from the outside'.

  According to http://www.hodinkee.com 'As it happens, Patek Philippe could not find a 'replacement' reference 1461 - vintage Pateks in steel are very desirable and just as difficult to find.  So they found the next best thing: a reference 1584J in yellow gold from the mid-1950s, with a handwound 720410 calibre inside. They managed to track it down through their dealer network and had it completely refurbished at the factory.  Woehrle flew to New York for the presentation of his new watch at Patek’s New York offices' [in 2011].


See also the entries relating to Timepieces connected with Lt Imeson and the Great Escape further below.


Courtesy of http://www.today.com & http://www.hodinkee.com

            

              '450 MILES TO FREEDOM'.
                 The 'Other' Great Escape!

The Heroic story of
Frederick Robbins Ellis
as told by his Grandson.

PrimeTime of Exeter has been kindly contacted by Mr Paul Stephens of Truro, Devon, England, who wrote to us with the fascinating and heroic story of his Grandfather Captain Frederick Robbins Ellis. Mr Stephens' intriguing story follows;

'...I have seen with interest your time for remembrance war archive...

My Grandfather - Frederick Robbins Ellis - was serving in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry following the outbreak of the First World War and had been sent with his battalion to India.  He had only been there for 3 weeks when he was seconded to the Dorsetshire Regiment and sent to Mesopotamia.  There he got as far as Kut-al Amara which was then besieged by the Turks.  Eventually, the Empire forces had to surrender.  My Grandfather was one of the Officers who was then taken to a POW camp in Anatolia.  However, he and 7 others planned an escape and succeeded in walking for 350 miles across Turkey and the Taurus Mountains until they reached the Mediterranean coast.  They then stole a small Turkish boat and succeeded in sailing it another 100 miles to the northern coast of Cyprus.  From there he was able to get home'.

Mr Stephens' Grandfather can be seen in the image above, standing second from left.  An exciting, graphic account of this heroic escape can be found in 'Four-Fifty Miles to Freedom' by Captain Johnston RGA & Captain Yearsley RE, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh & London 1919.

Mr Stephens has inherited 3 pocket watches from his Grandfather.  They are understood to be of English manufacture, and made for the Turkish market.  He believes his Grandfather bartered for the watches, and returned with them following his escape.  Mr Stephens is commissioning PrimeTime of Exeter to restore them to full working order.

Images of the watches mentioned will be placed in this archive as soon as available.

Image above taken from '450 Miles to Freedom' by Captain Johnston RGA & Captain Yearsley RE William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh & London 1919.

"...a nurse who tried to do her duty"


Left; the great Edith Cavell, with her team of Nurses in Belgium during WW1.

Edith Louisa Cavell was born in Swardeston, Norfolk (England) in 1865. She is celebrated internationally for helping to escape, and saving the lives of soldiers in Brussels (from all sides irrespective of nationality and without distinction.) 


She and others helped over 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium to Holland.  


Edith was arrested and tried by a German military court.  She was found guilty of ‘assisting men to the enemy of the German people’ and in the face of pleas for clemency was shot by German firing squad at 2 am, on October 12 1915 horrifying the entire world. Her body was reburied at Norwich Cathedral in 1919.






Nurses' fob watches were the more sanitary alternative to wrist watches. It is believed the word Fob is a derivation of the German word 'Fuppe' meaning pocket.

Above; A plaque dedicated to the memory of Edith Cavell, erected by teachers, pupils and friends of her old school at Laurel Court, Peterborough, England.

                                        




                                          German Airforce Luftstreitkräfte Nurses Fob Watch WW1 Circa 1916


                Note the Iron Cross insignia under the numeral 12 is that used prior to the basic
'Balkenkreuz' (beam or bar cross) national insignia, adopted by German aviation units in April 1918.

This image of British nurses attending to some of our wounded heroes of WW1, has been kindly sent to the archive by Adam Harris (see entries above).

Note the  Wrist Watch being worn.

Gallet, is known to be the world’s oldest watch and clock making house being traced back to Humbertus Gallet, a clock maker who became a citizen of Geneva in 1466.

A Gallet timepiece of particular renown was the 'Flight Officer' time zone chronograph. Commissioned by Senator Harry S. Truman in 1939 for pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, the Flight Officer (a.k.a. Flying Officer) had a rotating 12-hour bezel and the names of 23 major world cities printed on the periphery of the dial (face). 

These features made it possible to calculate changes in the time as an aviator flew across lines of longitude. 

        Nurses Gallet Wrist Watch Circa 1912, Kind 
     Courtesy of Adam Harris' outstanding collection.



In addition to being the first time zone calculating wristwatch, the Flight Officer was one of the world’s first wrist chronographs to be housed in a water resistant case. Truman wore a Gallet Flight Officer during his terms as 33rd president (1945–1953.)

                                          'The Madonnas of Pervyse'

Mairi Lambert Gooden-Chisholm of Chisholm 'Mairi Chisholm' (on the right) & Elizabeth 'Elsie' Knocker (The Baroness de T'Serclaes born Elizabeth Blackall Shapter). Known as 'The Madonnas of Pervyse',  the heroic nurses who rode a motorbike and sidecar into the battlefields of Belgium during WW1 to ferry the wounded and fallen. Mairi was born in Nairn, Scotland and Elsie was born in Exeter, Devon, England, and was also mentioned in despatches in WW2.





Note the preference for a wrist watch in this situation - as opposed to a fob - as it was presumably easier to read whilst riding the motor bike!

Outstanding image of Elsie and Mairi with their pet terrier 'Shot' who was sadly killed during a gas attack in 1918.

However, brave little Shot, managed to alert Elsie and Mairi, to that gas attack who were then able to put their gas masks on, saving their lives, before he passed away.

         ​Creating Bonds

The U.K. Treasury has said (October 2014) it plans to repay the £218 million note ($348.8 million) which was issued by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill in 1927. But it has also revived talk that the government could repay a further £2 billion of outstanding war debt, mostly in the form of the £1.9 billion “War Loan” dating from 1932.

The Treasury is “looking into the practicalities and value” of repaying this debt in full, it said in a statement.

At the time, everyone was encouraged to buy into war bonds.

The 1927 cash was raised by Churchill, the future prime minister, to refinance loans including some of the debt that was sold to fund the country’s involvement in the Great War. 






“Put it into National War Bonds” read the slogan on one advertisement alongside an image of a rifle-toting soldier (left). 


Above, we see nurses of the time signing up for their share of the Bonds. Note the wrist watch on the left wrist.

WW1 Nurse 

in a wonderfully posed picture, opting for a wrist watch in preference to the fob.

Grateful thanks to Adam Harris.

                                                            
During WWI some women from the Isle of Man travelled to the UK to take on jobs previously only available to men.  According to research undertaken by The Manx Museum, Mary Faragher from Douglas (pictured on the right of the photograph) worked as a crane driver at Vickers Naval Armaments factory.  The factory was based in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, England (now County of Cumbria) and their records show another Manx woman worked at Coventry Ordnance factory, filling shells with TNT. The Manx women along with their counterparts all over the country, cleaned locomotives, worked in shell factories and many other heavy and dangerous jobs, which had previously only been open to men.  This trend continued into WW2 - see the image above right.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
Note the military wristlet style watch being posed by Mary's colleague. There was an effort during WW1 to improve the robustness of watches, and it is possible the case of this watch is a type known as a 'Borgel' design (see below.)  In the late 1910s and early 1920s, a Swiss casemaker, Francis Baumgartner, made cases based on the patent by Borgel.  These cases were designed specifically to be more resiliant in order to provide additional protection to the watch movement.


Should you have any further information relating to either of the brave women portrayed above, please contact us.

​

                             Reading University
             commemorates its war dead of WW1.
This image of the magnificent clock tower at Reading University, commemorates those members of the University that gave their lives during WW1.  The contribution is by very kind courtesy of Caroline Benson, - Photographic Assistant at the Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading;


'...Regarding the university memorial clock tower I can offer the following information taken from, One Hundred Years of University Education in Reading; A Pictorial History 1892-1992. “ The War Memorial Tower designed by Herbert Maryon of the Fine Art Department, it is sixty feet high & fourteen feet square at the base. It was dedicated to W.M.Childs on June 7th 1924 & rededicated by the Bishop of Reading on May 23rd 1953. The names of members of the College & University who died are recorded on bronze tablets.”

By very kind courtesy of Caroline Benson, of The Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading.and The Reading Connections project – 'Reading at War'.

                                           Gwalchmai Village clock, Anglesey, Wales.
                                                              A Memorial to its War Dead.

This clock is one of the most striking features for those passing through Gwalchmai along the old A5 Road to Holyhead in Wales. The clock, which is also the Gwalchmai war memorial was built by a local stonemason in 1926.

The clock has four dials & chimes the hour and is apparently still wound by hand each day.

A Bulkhead Clock which originally belonged to U-boat 122 - one of the most advanced vessels in the German fleet during WW1- is now in the possession of a pensioner living in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The 94-year-old inherited the timepiece from her uncle, who is understood to have removed it when the submarine was surrendered at the end of WW1.

This story coincides with new photographs which have just emerged of UB-122 - the only German submarine visible in UK waters - beached in a remote area of mudflats by the river Medway in Kent (see image above right).

The century-old brass timepiece - manufactured by Franz Happe from the German city of Kiel - has been mounted on wood and an accompanying plaque reads "U.122". Apparently, it is still in working order but like any antique or vintage timepiece it is recommended to have the item serviced regularly.  With kind thanks to http://www.express.co.uk and special thanks to @geoffurs

Please contact PrimeTime of Exeter if you would like any further information regarding servicing or restoration.

Village Clock  first installed in 1920 to commemorate 13 villagers who gave their lives during WW1 has been repaired to commemorate the Centenary.

The Westgate Village Hall War Memorial Clock, in Weardale, County Durham, has been repaired in time to mark the 100th anniversary of the First World War after a fundraising effort by residents.

The clock  was originally built by Leeds-based firm 'Potts and Son' and, apart from when heavy snow or ice have caused it to stop, has consistently told the time perfectly ever since it was installed.




Engineers from clockmaker Smiths of Derby (seen on the left) completed the restoration and, thanks to the extra funds raised, were able to use original-style cast dials rather than the planned acrylic ones. timeforremembrance.com has contacted the Hall committee for further information regarding the history of the clock.

Story courtesy of www.thenorthernecho.co.uk

                     We Are Legion

Plaque in the Garden of Remembrance in Silverton Church Yard, honouring members of the British Legion. Laid in 1957.

The Royal British Legion is the UK's leading Armed Forces charity. They provide practical, emotional and financial support to all members of the British Armed Forces past and present, and their families.

The British Legion was founded in 1921 as a voice for the ex-Service community as a merger of four organisations: the Comrades of the Great War, the National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers, the National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers and the Officers' Association. 

It was granted a Royal Charter on 29 May 1971 to mark its fiftieth anniversary which gives the Legion the privilege of the prefix 'Royal'.

The Legion actively campaign to improve the lives of the Forces and their families, and are involved in countless fund-raising activities world-wide, not least the Poppy Appeal.

We recently met up with just one of their motivated fund raisers, Steve Keane, who can be seen in our Taking Time To Remember page.

The Poppy was adopted in 1921 by The Royal British Legion as the symbol of Remembrance. People had begun to adopt the Poppy after being inspired by the poem of a Canadian Doctor, John McCrae who had been present in France during WW1.

for more information visit: @PoppyLegion and http://www.britishlegion.org.uk

                   Training Horology Students Through War Time

As an ex-horology instructor at St Loye's College in Devon, England, I am always keen to hear about any stories that relate to passing on the skills and gifts of this noble profession.  I recently discovered this wonderful article by Ashlee Brown, a history graduate, which documents the story of a horological school housed in Bradley University, Illinois, in the United States of America, and the role it played during and subsequent to WW1. Cathy McAnespie.

'The clock tower in Bradley University’s historic Westlake Hall recently received a facelift as part of a major renovation and expansion of the university’s second oldest building, expected to be complete this summer. This new clock face, which bears Roman numerals similar to the original design, is a fitting symbol for the beginnings of the institution…The idea for a watchmaking school was first conceived by J.R. Parsons of Indiana, who felt that what he had spent most of his life learning to do could be taught in substantially less time at a proper school. An increased demand for skilled workers in his trade also fueled the idea. After reading a letter in a journal from a young man asking if there was a school where one could learn the watch trade, Parsons decided to establish such a school. As a result, in 1886, the Parsons Horological Institute—the first watchmaking school in the country—opened in La Porte, Indiana.

The school was a major success, but after six years, it was beginning to outgrow its accommodations. By this time, philanthropist Lydia Moss Bradley of Peoria, Illinois, had become interested in the school and the idea of assisting young men and women who desired to learn the trade. Bradley offered a larger building with all the necessary equipment, and in 1892, she bought and moved the Indiana-based school—with its 100 students, full staff of teachers and all—to Peoria. This was just one of the many projects into which she poured her energies.

War Time
The institution played an active role in technical training on behalf of the government during the First World War. On April 10, 1918, the Committee on Education and Special Training, representing the War Department, established Camp Bradley at Bradley Polytechnic Institute for the technical training of soldiers. The Army School of Mechanics was given near-exclusive use of Horology Hall to instruct soldiers in lens grinding, gunsmithing and the repair of fine instruments chiefly for use by the Air Force—mechanisms that recorded the height, speed, declination and inclination of airplanes.Attendance skyrocketed after the two world wars and the Korean War, as the School of Horology trained eager ex-servicemen in the trade, courtesy of the G.I. Bill. In fact, according to The Scout, the school “gained a national reputation for training the handicapped” in particular, with “veterans…flock[ing] to take advantage of the free instruction.”
“After World War II, the facilities and staff were expanded to accommodate more than 400 students who enrolled,” The Scout continues. “And during that 10-year post-war period, the school had to turn away 17,000 students!”

A Clock for the Ages
Built in 1898, Parsons’ original crafted clock was first housed in the tower of Horology Hall. But Grant Hood, a faculty member during the early 1900s, had a difficult time with the clock, which had not been properly constructed. Therefore, around 1904, plans for a new clock were adopted. Shop students made the weights, framework and heavy casings, and horology students completed the delicate work. The clock was wound manually, twice a week, for 40 years. In the 1950s, an electric winding mechanism was added to the clock so it could run for several months at a time without attention. In the ‘60s, it received another new face and was converted to run fully on electricity.

In 1946, Horology Hall was renamed Westlake Hall after Allen T. Westlake, the founding dean of the Horology Department, who served from its beginning until his death in 1931. Westlake was a beloved instructor, called “Papa Horology” by his students. He was one of the pioneer instructors in horology and attended the first conference that sparked the creation of the Horological Institute of America in Washington, D.C.



Westlake Hall, Bradley University, Illinois.

Despite its earlier glory days, attendance dwindled, and in 1961, the horology school closed its doors. The program would be transplanted once more, as Gem City Business College in Quincy, Illinois, purchased the remainder of its assets. In the end, more than 11,000 craftsmen had graduated from Bradley’s School of Horology.

So, the next time you look up at Bradley’s splendid new clock that towers over the campus, think of Lydia Moss Bradley and her quest for providing valuable educational opportunities for young men and women. Or, simply marvel at the craftsmanship itself—the clock’s four five-and-a-half foot glass panels weigh about 300 pounds each, according to The Scout—and with the help of a few hand exchanges and new faces, it still ticks, 114 years and counting'.

By Kind Courtesy of Ashlee Brown http://www.peoriamagazines.com

                                                                                       
                                              Abraham Lincoln's 'Secret' Message

A secret inscription inside Abraham Lincoln's gold pocket watch, reportedly marking the beginning of the American Civil War, was revealed at the National Museum of American History in March 2009, in the Smithsonian Institute.

The museum agreed to open the watch after the watchmaker’s great-great-grandson, Doug Stiles, contacted the museum curator Harry Rubenstein to inform him of the allegedly engraved message. The watch was carefully disassembled by George Thomas, a museum volunteer and master watchmaker. The engraving by watchmaker Jonathan Dillon is dated April 13th, 1861, and reads: ‘Jonathan Dillon April 13, 1861 Fort Sumpter was attacked by the rebels on the above date J Dillon April 13, 1861 Washington’ and ‘thank God we have a government Jonth Dillon.’

Lincoln allegedly never knew about the inscription and Jonathan Dillon only mentioned it 45 years later, aged 84, in an interview with The New York Times published on April 30th, 1906. The watchmaker told the newspaper that he had been repairing the watch when he found out about the breakout of the war, when Confederate forces attacked the military base at Fort Sumter on April 12th, 1861. He described how he had unscrewed the dial of the watch and used a sharp instrument to engrave his name and the historic date on the president’s watch as well as the message: ‘The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a President who at least will try’ (this differs from the actual inscription). He also claimed that to his knowledge ‘no one but himself ever saw the inscription.’ Brent Glass, director of the National Museum of American History, described the significance of the discovery: ‘Lincoln never knew of the message he carried in his pocket. It's a personal side of history about an ordinary watchman being inspired to record something for posterity.’  Mr Stiles reacted to the discovery with the levelling comment of: ‘My ancestor put graffiti on Lincoln’s watch!’

By kind courtesy of www.historytoday.com

​Left; Gold 'Full-Hunter' Pocket Watch complete with Albert Chain, belonging to Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America during the American Civil War 1861 - 1865.

                                The President Jefferson Davis Watch

'Jefferson Davis watch is a truly fascinating story about an Irish family who immigrated to Canada and took on the responsibility of preserving this special artifact and highly personal time piece belonging to the first and only President of the Confederate States of America.  Of course the watch doesn't hold such a significant place in American history because of what it is; but because, of who it belonged to.  President Davis, at the time of his inauguration (Feb. 1861) was the figurehead and symbol of the new republic, formed by the southern most slave states, of what was formally "The United States of America".  A new Republic (the Confederacy) that would be sustained by the bloodiest four years of warfare the world had ever seen.  At the conclusion of the American Civil War; April 1865, Confederate President Jefferson F. Davis with his wife, family and the remnants of his cabinet officials proceeded southward in an attempt to elude pursuing northern military units that had been discharged with effecting his capture.  On May 10, 1865, President Davis and his entourage are apprehended in a small Georgia town called Irwinville. The President was subsequently incarcerated in the federal facility of Fortress Monroe, Va. for the following two years.  The U.S. Gov't had every intention to charge, and then try the ex- president for treason, which carries the penalty of death by hanging.  During this two year period he was exposed to being chained and long periods of solitary confinement all the while his general health was deteriorating rapidly.

On the left; Front view of the Pocket Watch, with its original key.




After this two year period of time, and a growing support of the southern people, coupled with a $100,000 bond supplied by; of all sources, a group of northern abolitionists headed by newspaper publisher Horace Greeley a devout anti slavery advocate, it was decided best to release the ex-president.  On May 13, 1867, Jefferson Davis is brought before the federal court in Richmond, Va., where the court accepts the bond and sets Davis free on his own recognizance to return at a future date for final disposition.  Upon his release Ex-president Davis proceeds to Canada where his wife and family are waiting anxiously.
        
It is here in the small township of Lennoxville, Quebec that the most interesting part of this story begins. In 1866 the small family of Robert and Catherine Balfour with their one year old son, William, and accompanied by Robert's younger brother, Alexander, arrive in Quebec, from Ireland, where all had lived most of their lives.  Robert and Alexander are both accomplished boot makers and decide to set-up a small repair and custom boot shop in the nearby township of Lennoxville.  They manage to procure a shop (that the 1871 census locates) on the main street of town.  It is approximately one year later that Ex-president Davis would arrive at Lennoxville. He arrives in quest of a quiet out of the way town where he might have a chance to put his life back together. 

On the left; the Watch in its Hand Carved Olive Wood Case (created from 1 piece of wood)



Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina put their children in school and attempt to put the past six years behind them.  However, this was not as easily done, as said.   The U.S. Government had confiscated their land, money and any belongings of value that could be found.  It is assumed Jefferson Davis left prison with the clothes on his back and whatever personal effects he had in his possession at the time of his incarceration.  According to personal correspondences between Davis and various friends, he was destitute and his most immediate need was to find employment and some way to provide for his family.  So it was that one day shortly after his arrival he would find himself in the boot shop of Robert Balfour and through the only means left to him offered to barter his pocket watch for the one article he needed even more, a pair of custom made boots. 

The image here shows the spectacular detail of the Olive Wood case



This offer being accepted by Robert Balfour begins the most interesting journey of  this famous watch.  The decision to barter his pocket watch could not have been easy.  In the 19th century a pocket watch was a very personal item, especially for a man of position and means of which he was accustomed to both.  For President Davis his watch would speak well for the man who held it.  This watch is of high quality, unique design, in its silver finish and delicate detail of enamel inlay, all the way to its smaller than normal dimension, a design that would fit the president's hand more comfortably.
Ex-president Davis would stay in Lennoxville until 1868 when he accepted employment from an English company and left for the U.K.  


It is fortunate for the artifact, and for us who enjoy it, that the Balfour family was the one who came into possession of this fine piece.  The Balfour family knew the significance of this watch from a historical point of view.  It is also significant to point out that the family never tried to gain from it's value, but simply kept it in their possession and simply cherished it. They passed it down the line until the line ran out and there was no one left to leave it to.  All the while the family made continued references to the watch by letters and family history documents. 

(Left Above; The Dial of the Watch. Kindly set to 11 o' clock by Mr & Mrs Berry
to Honour and Remember all those who gave their lives during all Conflicts.
(please see our Taking Time to Remember page).










A superb image of the inside of the Watch.





The following is the chronology and line of possession the watch went through:

    
1867    Jefferson Davis barters watch for custom boots
        TO
1867    Robert Balfour, Boot Maker, died 1884
        TO    
1884    Catherine "Kate" Balfour (Robert's wife)
        TO
Unknown    William Alexander Balfour (eldest son), died 1886
        TO
1886    Catherine "Kate" Balfour, died 1917
        TO
1917    Henriette Balfour (youngest daughter), died 1957
        TO
1957    Helen Parks Wood (cousin to Henriette), died 1959
        TO
1959    Raymond Wood (husband of Helen Parks Wood), died 1982
        TO
1982    Tom & Doris Courchene
     (Close family friends & Caretakers of Helen & Raymond Wood)
        ON LOAN TO
2002    Jefferson Davis Presidential Library & Museum, BEAUVOIR
              BACK TO
2004    Tom & Doris Courchene  WHO PUT THE WATCH UP FOR AUCTION
          PURCHASED BY
2004    George & Lilliana Berry, Medford,Oregon, USA
        ON LOAN TO
2006     THE FIRST WHITE HOUSE OF THE CONFEDERACY, Montgomery, Al-USA
         BACK  TO
2010    George & Lilliana Berry, Medford, Oregon, USA

       
         
It is now our time to watch over this piece of history, to safe guard it and cherish it in the same exemplary manner that those who have watched over it before us, have so nobly done'.    
                                                                         
                                                    Below; The Jefferson Davis Watch Proudly Displayed at the Confederate Whitehouse    
                                  Very warm thanks to George & Lilliana Berry & Anne Tidmore; http://firstconfederatewhitehousereport.blogspot.co.uk