Cole Pennington, Editor at HODINKEE
February 3, 2020

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A large crowd was at hand to attend the much-anticipated lecture from Cole Pennington, Editor at HODINKEE, for the February 2020 installment of HSNY’s lecture series. To start the lecture, Pennington referenced a book by Roman Mars titled “Always Read the Plaque” as a way to explain the unique information that building plaques display when people pass by. It is this idea that Pennington believes watch enthusiasts/collectors should adopt: always read the case back. And also, what are the circumstances on how we retrieve a World War II watch in the first place?

Before touching upon the WWII watches, Pennington referred WWI timepieces that were touted as trench watches. The two inscribed caseback examples that he showed were the USAS (United States Air Service) 1917 and the L Taggart 1916. Mineral glass covered the dial with ornate metal coverings to protect the glass from shrapnel. Inscriptions were not only for memory’s sake - they also served the unfortunate purpose of identification in case anything went wrong.

So how did Pennington come across the military watch collection that he covered in detail on HODINKEE? Not only does Pennington have an interest in watches - he’s also interested in aviation. The P-51 Mustang plane named “Kwitcherbitchin” was making an appearance at a WWII Day re-enactment event in Reading, Pennsylvania. Since re-enactors are detail-oriented, they need true period timepieces. Pennington came across a gentleman who was selling some of his 40-year-old military watch collection at the event. The common pieces found were Army Ordnance Dept (ORD DEPT) watches that were used by infantry, and then issued to all the branches of service, of which the A-11 wristwatch was mainly made for the Army Air Corp.

Here’s what Pennington chose to highlight from the collection and the inscriptions that were on the casebacks:

Watch #1
- Brand: Elgin
- Inscription: To the Heroic People of the USSR - Russian War Relief
Watch #2
- Brand: Active Service
- Inscription: To Lieut. A.C. Jones RCNR From Royal Sovereign Sea Cadet Corps Sault Ste Marie 1941
Watch #3
- Brand: Elgin (Army Ordnance Watch)
- Inscription: W.H. Croner, LT. U.S.N. 309657
Watch #4
- Brand: Hamilton
- Inscription: Lt. G.C. Fullenkamp Best Wishes From Your Fed. Mach. & Welder Co. Friends
Watch #5
- Brand: Elgin De Luxe
- Inscription: To Pike Beall From Co-Workers Edgewood Arsenal 1942
Watch #6
- Brand: Orvin
- Inscription: Maj. T.G. Brown Dec 25 1940 Edmonton Fusiliers
Watch #7
- Brand: Belmar
- Inscription: Todd 3-23-46 F CO. 32 Infantry
Watch #8
- Brand: Active Service
- Inscription: J.R. McDowell R192429 R.C.A.F.