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Bulova Watch Lost at Sea During WW2 Reunited with Owner After 67 Years, Still Ticking
Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 8:45 PM on June 9, 2008
A Royal Navy veteran has been reunited with his watch, 67 years after he lost it during World War II—and, it worked perfectly. In 1941, Teddy Bacon, a lieutenant aboard HMS Repulse, was throwing a line from ship to shore when the gold Bulova watch, bought in the Azores for US$55, slipped off his wrist and into Gibraltar Harbor. The timepiece was never found, until the harbor was dredged, seven decades later.
After seeing his watch splosh into the water, Teddy sent down a couple of divers to search for it, but without any luck. So, he informed the deputy harbor-master who logged the missing object. Fast-forward to 2007, and the watch turned up during the dredging of the harbor. When the authorities checked the log, they found Teddy's claim, and sent the watch, still ticking, off to him. Now 90 years old, the retired sailor couldn't believe his eyes when a package containing his gold watch arrived at his new home.
'To say I was stunned could be considered a major understatement,' he said. "It truly was a miracle that I had been reunited with that watch after a lifetime. Now I wear it every day and it keeps perfect time, even after all those years in the water. It is absolutely excellent and I consider it a long-lost friend.'" [Daily Mail]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
strobefx
Posted 9:36 PM 9/6/08
@JacquesAss: That's awful.
strobefx
DigitalSciGuy
Posted 9:21 PM 9/6/08
I see the beginnings of a lovely advertising campaign for Bulova...
DigitalSciGuy
JacquesAss
Posted 9:00 PM 9/6/08
Bulova needs to make that man a hefty offer for the watch. Like those million-mile Volvos, this one belongs at headquarters.
JacquesAss
The Magnificen7
Posted 8:59 PM 9/6/08
@scarbrtj: Hee hee, but I got the drawing. *drool*
The Magnificen7
Slab
Posted 8:58 PM 9/6/08
That's a great story.
Slab
scarbrtj
Posted 8:56 PM 9/6/08
So... a dirty little secret is that Rose Bukater also got back the Heart of the Ocean.
scarbrtj
NilSn
Posted 8:55 PM 9/6/08
W00t
NilSn
The Magnificen7
Posted 8:54 PM 9/6/08
Cool.
The Magnificen7
Gonzie
Posted 10:04 PM 9/6/08
amazing stuff :)
Gonzie
dcmidnight
Posted 9:57 PM 9/6/08
@mysdak:
Exactly. An automatic watch still needs to be moved around to wind the mechanism. Maybe it started working again once it was dredged up and moved around? Dunno, but salt water can be hell on metal.
dcmidnight
Curves
Posted 9:57 PM 9/6/08
Proving yet again that quality pays for itself in the end.
Curves
mysdak
Posted 9:44 PM 9/6/08
The still ticking part is a little unbelievable. Maybe still working...after he manually wound the watch. Maybe this was an experimental nuclear watch.
mysdak
wanago
Posted 10:26 PM 9/6/08
I have a Bulova from the 50's that still works great. Most watches were much smaller than most are today.
wanago
DustyButt
Posted 10:22 PM 9/6/08
@daath: Pump Friction? Oh, sorry wrong genre.
DustyButt
wjousts
Posted 10:12 PM 9/6/08
@wjousts: I tried this site:
[www.westegg.com]
They claim that $55 in 1940 would be around $800 today. Pretty expensive for a watch.
wjousts
wjousts
Posted 10:10 PM 9/6/08
@xenti: $55 in the 1940's? I'd say that was a very expensive watch.
wjousts
wjousts
Posted 10:09 PM 9/6/08
@dcmidnight: Dunno, but salt water can be hell on metal.
Gold should be fine.
wjousts
daath
Posted 10:08 PM 9/6/08
Reminds me... Guess the movie ;)
...Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you.
daath
xenti
Posted 10:07 PM 9/6/08
@dcmidnight:
The automatic wristwatch didn't appear until 1923, but they weren't very popular until years later, due to their high cost. At $55, even adjusting for inflation, I'd be surprised if the watch in question was an automatic.
xenti
sqeakytoy of the apocalypse
Posted 10:37 PM 9/6/08
and whats just as amazing is that the harbormasters records still exist after all this time! Through war and everything, they were still able to pull up an individual record about something as small as a watch.
sqeakytoy of the apocalypse
Ryanraven
Posted 12:07 AM 10/6/08
What powered this watch?
Ryanraven
newgalactic
Posted 12:07 AM 10/6/08
@DustyButt: How is the picture not of Christopher Walken holding "the watch". He held that uncomfortable piece of metal up his a$$ for two and a half years for gosh sakes.
newgalactic
N@tedog
Posted 11:51 PM 9/6/08
@sqeakytoy of the apocalypse: Yeah I say that's the most amazing thing here too. The system worked.
N@tedog
zenpoet
Posted 11:49 PM 9/6/08
@sqeakytoy of the apocalypse: This really was a strange set of events for the man to get his watch back. First, they found it.
Second, the guy digging through the muck didn't keep it.
Third, they actually checked their records to see if there was a claim.
Fourth, the guy checking the records actually went all the way back to 1941 to see if there was a claim, and not just the last ten years.
Fifth, they actually tried to find the guy who made the claim, even though he would likely be dead by now.
Sixth, they did find him
Seventh, he wasn't dead.
Eighth, it still worked.
Amazazing!
zenpoet
Mayor McRib
Posted 12:22 AM 10/6/08
So should I assume there is hope for my Swatch that fell in the Gulf of Mexico in 1988....
Didn't think so.
Mayor McRib
MarlboroTestMonkey7
Posted 12:20 AM 10/6/08
Ha ha ha, he has a lot of winding to do.
MarlboroTestMonkey7
RamV10
Posted 12:15 AM 10/6/08
Magic
RamV10
Cetrian
Posted 1:25 AM 10/6/08
"This message brought to you by Bulova. The Current time is eleven twenty four AM. B-U-L-O-V-A on the air, on the hour."
Cetrian
michaelportent
Posted 2:00 AM 10/6/08
@zenpoet: Seriously. A lot of things had to go right for that guy to get his watch back. Maybe proof that fate exists?
michaelportent
RoderickBibaculus
Posted 10:02 PM 9/6/08
Well, if its an automatic watch, the ocean knocking it around, could have kept it winding itself up for all these years...
RoderickBibaculus
bramachari
Posted 3:23 AM 10/6/08
My I suggest that Bulova start making cell phones?
bramachari
chrisinohio
Posted 1:04 AM 10/6/08
Great story but the watch in the picture couldn't have been lost in 1941 as it was made some time in the late 50s or early 60s.
I'm guessing they didn't have a pic of the actual watch and the reporter or editor found this one and decided to use it.
Bulova didn't start making a self-winding wristwatch until the mid to late 40s.
Chris
chrisinohio
DanLar75
Posted 4:44 AM 10/6/08
Salt water is hell on SOME metals, not gold!
"Still Ticking" is of course referring to the fact that it is still working, NOT still RUNNING!
Just had to,
Tards!
DanLar75
oopl
Posted 6:34 AM 10/6/08
Bulova watches have gone up in price since 1941...
oopl
philselmer
Posted 2:47 AM 12/6/08
@zenpoet: I'd guess that someone looked at the watched, realized how old it was, and looked at the old records first.
philselmer