Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

As I noted in my first post on the 52-Set pocket watches, without an opportunity to examine one of them to record the markings on the back of the case, any markings on the inside of the rear cover, and the stampings on the movement, the odds of identifying the actual manufacturer are quite slim.

The most probable manufacturer would have been in North America, based on the security/safety of the supply delivery system from the manufacturer to the Canadian Marconi Company in Montreal. Their intension to have both receivers in each 52-Set kit equipped with pocket watches upon delivery to the end user in the field, meant these watches had to be available in steady supply on the production line for packing on the receivers, along with a sufficient supply of additional watches for the Army’s Supply System. That would mean a potential Contract Order with a company for between 8,000 and 10,000 watches.

There were quite a number of clock and watch makers in Canada and the United States but when you look at the number actually making watches during World War 2, there was only one in Canada and four in the United States. I have taken a dive into the one in Canada first, as it would have provided the shortest delivery distance to CMC’s Montreal production facility.

The Western Clock Company was based in the United States, but essentially wound up most of its watch making operations prior to the start of the war. It did, however, have a well established Canadian Division based in Peterborough, Ontario, also initially known as the Western Clock Company, but probably better known operating under its trademark name of Westclox Canada Limited. Its factory closed about 20 years ago, but was maintained for a while as a warehouse distribution centre, before also finally being shuttered. I believe the buildings are still there, but repurposed.

While researching this, I ran across a small reference on the web noting the archive of Westclox Canada had been donated to the City of Peterborough Museum and Archives, so dropped them a line to see if anything was in the files from 1943-1944 relating to contracts with Canadian Marconi. Short story, the only 1943-1944 files they found were rather sterile accounting records with little or no cross reference to the sources of incoming cash. Lots of product references and postwar adverts but not all of this has been catalogued, The long story unfolded in a rather similar way as the fate of the Canadian Marconi Company archives when they closed up shop. Records were simply getting trashed for a period of time before somebody had the idea that perhaps they might be of value to an outside archive. In the Westclox case, the City of Peterborough was contacted because of the long presence of the company in Peterborough. At least the archive has my name now so if anything interesting turns up down the road, they can contact me. In conversations with the archive, I remembered Westclox definitely had their hands in other wartime production, one of which was the Morse Key and Plug Assembly No. 9, which was also part of the 52-Set kit. It is possible Westclox may have been making both items for Canadian Marconi.



David