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I have an old Lord Elgin self winder, gift from GF in 1956. Run over by a truck in a gravel parking lot in 1959 and wife had it repaired. Still works today (checked it yesterday to be sure) but haven't used it in many years. Keep it going for nostalgia reasons. Nothing inappropriate but still correspond with that old GF by email regularly.
 
Lord Elgin's were some pretty nice watches, the self winders were Swiss made (American watch companies never really got into the technology). I own a late forties Lord Elgin that I sometimes wear for a bit of a change.
 
waltesefalcon said:
Lord Elgin's were some pretty nice watches, the self winders were Swiss made (American watch companies never really got into the technology). I own a late forties Lord Elgin that I sometimes wear for a bit of a change.
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A bit of sour anti-climax: Elgin (manufacturing) breathed it's last right down the road from me:
this from Wikipedia:
"In 1964 the company relocated most manufacturing operations to a brand new plant in Blaney, South Carolina, a town near Columbia, South Carolina which renamed itself Elgin, South Carolina. A leased building in Elgin that housed offices as well as casing, fitting, shipping, service, and trade material departments was maintained until about 1970."

"All US manufacturing was discontinued in 1968, and the rights to the name "Elgin" were sold and subsequently resold multiple times over the years. The rights eventually were purchased by MZ Berger Inc., which company manufactures its watches in China and distributes them outside traditional watch dealerships. Elgin-branded watches produced after 1968 have no connection to the Elgin Watch Company."

Reminds me a little of the era of LBC's in a small way.


 
Yeah the history of the US brands and many of the smaller Swiss brands is very similar to the history of auto manufacturing.
 
My Dad joined the army as a boy soldier at the age of 14 in 1947. On his first posting abroad to Egypt (1951 I think when he would have been the same age my son is now) he bought himself a watch.

As a kid I was always facinated by this watch because of its glass back that let me see the mechanism and when he died a few years ago my Mum gave me the watch. It still keeps good time but the shell needs replating and a new strap, something I intend to do if I can find somewhere I can trust with the plating. Its not a valuble watch by any means but it holds great value to me.

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catfood said:
My Dad joined the army as a boy soldier at the age of 14 in 1947. On his first posting abroad to Egypt (1951 I think when he would have been the same age my son is now) he bought himself a watch.

As a kid I was always facinated by this watch because of its glass back that let me see the mechanism and when he died a few years ago my Mum gave me the watch. It still keeps good time but the shell needs replating and a new strap, something I intend to do if I can find somewhere I can trust with the plating. Its not a valuble watch by any means but it holds great value to me.

View attachment 40860View attachment 40861
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14 years old?
wow.......what drove him to sign up at such a young age, especially at that time, less than 2 years after the end of the war (and how did he fool the recruiters)?

cool watch, BTW.
 
He told me in those days you could sign up as a boy soldier and do your last year at school in the army. In my Dads case it was coming from a poor background and (reading between the lines as he never talked about it) a difficult family life with little opportunities to get work it was the only option open to him.
 
Kids had to grow up fast back then.
i can only imagine what it must have been like for young teens back then in the UK.
all the soldiers back from the war, taking what ever jobs they could get.
not much left for a kid to do...
did your dad have a army career?
 
He did 12 years in the army where they taught him basic book keeping skills and then spent the rest of his life doing office work.

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