Here we have a fascinating example of a WW1 period E.W. Sheffield of Cairo, Silver case Borgel trench watch. It has the solid case back with the coin edge screw front. The case is well proportioned measuring 34.5mm wide. To the right is the large original onion style crown with the pin-set above. The dial is a black enamel with classic railroad minute track and Arabic numerals with the radium luminous in-fill. It has the E.W. Sheffield signing below 12 o’clock with the inset sub-second dial at 6 o’clock. The hands are thermally blued, of cathedral style with the luminous in-fill. The inside of the case is marked with Swiss hallmarking for 0.935 silver, with the serial number and Francois Borgel logo. The movement calibre is an as yet unidentified, good quality Swiss lever calibre. It has perlage finishing to the bridges and under the balance. It has been recently serviced and is keeping accurate time.

Montague Moore VC
The watch is from the estate of Captain Montague Shadworth Seymour Moore VC (1896-1966). He was awarded the Victoria Cross, aged just 20, for his actions during the battle of the Menin Road 20th – 25th September 1917, as part of the 15th Battalion of The Hampshire Regiment.

On the 20th September 1917 near Tower Hamlets, east of Ypres, Belgium, he volunteered to make a fresh attack on a final objective and went forward with 70 men, but they met such heavy opposition, that when he arrived at his objective, he had only one sergeant and four men. He bombed a large dug-out, taking 28 prisoners, two machine-guns and a light field-gun. Gradually more officers and men arrived, numbering roughly 60 and he held the post for 36 hours. He beat off counter attacks, until his force was reduced to 10 men. He managed to get away his wounded and withdrew under cover of a thick mist.

He was born at 13 Montague Place, Worthing and attended Bedford School from 1906 to 1913 and privately for a year at the army coaching establishment Stirling House, in Bournemouth. He was trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst from March.

This watch was not known to be the watch he wore during his VC exploits, but it certainly will have had an interesting journey throughout his varied service and working life.

After the war, he served in 2nd Hampshire Regiment in 238th Special Brigade, in North Russia in the Russian Civil War and later in Ireland. He transferred to 1st Battalion which served in Constantinople, in the Army of the Black Sea 1920-1921.

He was attached to 2nd Nyasaland Battalion, King’s African Rifles at Tabora, from the 4th August 1921, where he was promoted to Temporary Captain in 1924.He returned to the Hampshire Regiments as a Lieutenant in August 1926.

Monty and his wide Audrey settled in the Serengeti Game Reserve at Banagi Camp. He became Tanganyika’s Chief Game Warden in 1944, a post he held until his retirement to Kenya in 1951. He passed of Renal failure in 1966.

The Watch
The black enamel dial has the champagne tone railroad minute track around the exterior, with the diamond shaped markers to the quarters. The hour markers are also the champagne tone with the aged luminous in-fill which is a dark orange tone. Below 12 o’clock is the bright retailer signing in the white paint ‘E.W. Sheffield Jeweller, Etc, 5 Sharia El-Manaba, Cairo’. At 6 o’clock is the inset sub-second dial which has the railroad track with alternating 5 second dash markers and Arabic markers. The hands are of luminous cathedral style and have the thermally blued tone. The luminous is the rich orange tone, matching the hour markers.

The case measures 34.5mm x 34.5mm which makes this a well-sized watch. The crown adds significant presence, taking the total width to just under 40mm. The fixed bar lugs have a width of 13mm for the strap. With a depth of 10.5mm, this is a neat watch which sits nicely on the wrist.

It is a patented Borgel case which was innovative, providing protection against dust and moisture. The case is formed of a solid section with the silver fixed lugs. The movement fits within a threaded carrier ring with the bezel and glass fitting over the top. The bezel has the coin edge finish which provides friction to screw and un-screw. This is then screwed into the case, creating a seal. The crown and stem require removal for the case to screw and un-screw. This is achieved by pulling the crown out and holding it, whilst turning the bezel. The hands are pin set, by depressing the button above the crown. The solid back is free of engraving.

The inside of the case is marked with Swiss hallmarking for 0.935 silver, with the serial number ‘161520’. It has the ‘F.B.’ Francois Borgel logo.

Inside the case is marked with British import hallmarking from London assay office. The date letter ‘r’ corresponds with the 1913 manufacture. It is marked with the ‘AB’ sponsor mark of Arthur Baume, the UK importer of Longines at the time. It also has the ‘F.B.’ logo for Francious Borgel. It has the serial number 2,713,357 which corresponds with the extract information.

The movement calibre is an as yet unidentified, good quality Swiss lever calibre. It has perlage finishing to the bridges and under the balance. It has been recently serviced and is keeping accurate time to within 20 seconds variation per day.

It is presented on a single piece leather strap which has the hallmarked silver buckle, dating to 1913.

The watch is modelled on a 7” wrist circumference.
Please see the images as these compliment and aid the description provided below.
A further condition report is below.

Dial:
The dial is enamel and is original. It is in good condition with no noticeable cracks or chips. The signing is clear with the original luminous. The retailer signing has worn in areas with age.

Hands:
The hands are of cathedral style and have the luminous in-fill. The luminous has aged.

Glass:
The mineral crystal is a replacement which is in perfect condition.

Crown:
The crown is an original Borgel crown which winds the watch as it should and pulls out to unscrew the movement.

Case:
The screw case functions as it should, with no signs of major wear to the thread where the movement carrier screws in. The bezel is in good antique condition with the defined coin edge finish. It is free of engraving.

Strap:
It is presented on a single piece leather strap which has the hallmarked silver buckle, dating to 1913.

Movement:
The movement calibre is an as yet unidentified, good quality 15 jewel, manual wind Swiss lever calibre.

The movement has been recently serviced by ourselves and is keeping very accurate time to within 20 seconds variation a day, with an amplitude of 325 degrees and a beat error of 0.4m/s.

Case dimensions
Case width: 34.5mm
Case width with crown: 39.7mm
Case length: 34.5mm
Case length lug to lug: 41.1mm
Case depth: 10.5mm
Lug width: 13mm