WW2 Corps of Signals Pocket Watch

[David Dunlop]

Anyone have an idea what one of these is worth these days, either the black or white faced ones? I'm not that fussy, just as long as it fits in the watch holder on the 19-Set and looks good doing so.

There are a few currently on eBay, mostly Walthams or 'Unknowns', but I am reluctant to get involved with a bidding war without more background information. One buyer appears to have picked up about 17 of them over the past few months, but no sign of them reselling, unless a different seller's name is being used.

There also seems to be two distinct types of military pocket watch issued. A 'standard' one, and one for signal's personnel with a longer stem to clear the pocket watch holder on the Wireless Sets.

David

[Ed Storey]

Here are a couple of images of a pair of watches I have, both were given to me. One is a General Service Time Piece (one with the ring) that came from my Uncle, a WWII RCEME Vet, the other a Time Piece for the No.19 Set came from a neighbor of my parents. Neither is for sale, although I would imagine that purchasing any WWII time piece would probably do damage to at least $100.00.

[Bruce MacMillan]

Just about any GSTP watch of that era will do. There was no "standard issue" watch for the 19 set. None of the kit lists show a watch as an issued item. The WS11 kit had one listed as "watches, non-magnetic, WT" and the WS52 had one but it was deleted from the kit list. There was a VAOS number for the watch (VC7563) so I suspect there were many makers whose order went into the pot and when you needed one you took "pot luck".

As to the stem issue I've seen photos of both ring and ringless watches used. In fact the original manual for the WS11 shows a photo of a watch with a ring.

There is a good article on British issue watches here:
http://www.kilocycles.co.uk/photos/watch.htm

[Grant Bowker]

A loacl wireless collector explained it to me as: the watches were issued to the individual rather than the radio set to ensure accountability. Naturally no-one left their watch in the holder for the next operator to "borrow" since the supply system would charge (probably in both senses) them for the loss. Since nobody was using the watch holders, they were ordered discontinued, removed when broken, which happened easily enough given the brittle nature of bakelite.
I haven't seen documentation of this, but it seems reasonable.

[Bruce MacMillan]

Modification Instruction #11, dated 2Jul1957, called for the removal of all watch holders from the 19 set. The instructions were to dispose of them as scrap. No wonder they are hard to find and not cheap when you do.

[David Dunlop]

Ed. Nice set of watches. I tried to make out the name on the face of the 'ringed' one, but could not enlarge enough. Looked like a large N in the middle of about five letters.

Grant. I recall talking to a veteran a number of years ago who told me he had ordered a pocket watch through his supply channels during the war and was deducted $2.00 Cdn from his payroll for it. A couple of weeks later it grew legs and disappeared on him one night. He never did order another one.

I will see what I can scare up on eBay in the next little while.

While I think of it. While there are a number of references for military pocket watches, they don't appear to have been issued with a specific chain or cord. I am thinking that a pistol or whistle lanyard could have been readily adapted to the pocket watch ring, or even the leather lace used on the vehicle tool kit machetes or folding wire cutters. I cannot recall seeing a wartime photo of a military pocket watch in use with an identifiable retaining device.

David

[David Dunlop]

I have now obtained a pair of military pocket watches for my two 19-Sets and thought I would pass along an observation regarding the pocket watch holders on the Mk II and Mk III 19-Sets.

The pocket watch (with a stem ring as Bruce noted) fits the holder on the Mk III Power Supply Unit beautifully! It is a rather exposed position on the Supply Unit and the bakelite holder would be quite prone to damage if the grill guard was not in place on the set.

I found the location of the bakelite holder on the Mk II 19-Set to be a bit of a challenge, however. It is clearly a much better protected location, being set back more than on the Mk III even if the grill guards were not in place, but care must be taken with the two spring clips for the 6-point and 12-point connectors above and below the bakelite holder. If these two spring clips are not adjusted to be as close to their respective connector rings as possible, the clips will interfere with both the holder and the pocket watch.

The upper arm of the 12-point connector spring clip can rub against the bottom of the bakelite bezel ring with enough force to actually distort the bezel ring when you are trying to screw it onto the watch holder. This could cause either the bezel or the holder to break.

The bottom arm of the 6-point connector spring clip can rub against the top of the winding ball on the actual pocket watch stem, not allowing the pocket watch to be properly seated in the holder. If you force the issue, it could result once again in either, or both of, the holder or holder bezel ring being broken. Also, room is limited underneath the 6-point connector and the best fit for the ring on the pocket watch stem seems to be for it to be pointing towards the radio operator.

Considering how hard it is to find an intact pocket watch holder these days, for those of you fortunate enough to have one on your Mk II 19-Set, or those of you considering to add one to your Mk II, make sure to check and adjust the clearances on the two spring clips.

Regards,

David