Good evening:

Here is a watch I picked up earlier last year. It needed a new staff, but otherwise was in great condition. It is a standard Waltham 15J watch; however the inscription on the case has allowed me to find out much history about the owner. It belonged to Captain Norman Clifford McKay who served during WW1 in Europe. I was able to get all his military records from our National Library. He was a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. When he returned from the war he served a mayor of Campbellton, N.B from 1921-25 (check the link). Ah…the history!

http://genealogy.restigouche.net/mayor11.htm

Grant

Great find Grant.Is this a wrist watch as i thought i could see a lug in the picture.I was wondering this as i see it has the flourescent hands on it.Another thing i was wondering were hands on a watch used in active service that could be seen in the dark?

Hi there Kevin:
Yes, it is a wrist watch.
I believe that it would have had radium paint on the hands at one time; however I'm not sure if these hands are replacements. The case is sterling.
Take care,
gp

What a great watch you have. Some years ago, I also researched a WWI Waltham w/Canadian provenance. The big envelope from Ottawa was a treasure trove of information. Canada is extremely fortunate to have such excellent archives. It's nearly impossible to obtain information regarding U.S. WWI vets. The records were lost in a fire.

Radium was popular back in WWI. It would be my guess that during the service life of the watch, the Swiss made radium holding hands were added for better visibility at night. The hands on your watch appear to be of WWI vintage.

Best regards,
Greg

Grant:

Perhaps 7 years after your post, but you might find this of interest about Major McKay These are his Attestation Papers which he had to sign to get in...so at least you have a birthdate & copy of his signature.

http://www.collectionscanada.g...6a.gif&id_nbr=165908

Marty