Military Pocket Watches: The Broad Arrow, GSTP and What They Are Worth

How to identify a British military pocket watch from the marks on its case back, which makers supplied them, how to spot an added arrow, and what they sell for.

What makes a pocket watch military

A military pocket watch is one the government bought for issue, not a watch a serviceman happened to own. On a British watch the proof is the broad arrow, a three-stroke arrowhead stamped or engraved on the case back, and often on the dial and movement too.

• Government property. The arrow was used in England from the 14th century and widely from the 16th. It became the mark of the Board of Ordnance, then the War Department (1855), the War Office (1857 to 1964) and the Ministry of Defence, until it was phased out in the 1980s.
• Sold out of service. When an item was sold off, a second arrow was struck nose to nose with the first.
• Protected by law. Under the Public Stores Act 1875, applying the mark without authority was an offence.

Source: Wikipedia, Broad arrow, summarising the Public Stores Act 1875.

A watch with no arrow and no service number is a civilian watch, however close its link to a soldier. That is no slight on it: many family watches carried through both wars were bought from a jeweller. For gold cases and their marks, see our antique gold pocket watch identification guide.

First World War pocket watches

Issued watches were few

In 1914 an infantry battalion of about 1,000 men received just eight issued watches, for signallers, telegraphists and telephonists, according to watch historian David Boettcher.

Officers were given a kit allowance of around £50 and bought their own watch from a jeweller or outfitter. Those are civilian watches, often silver open faces like this one, and carry no arrow.

Source: vintagewatchstraps.com (David Boettcher), the first military wristwatches.

Issue pocket watches by H. Williamson

The issued pocket watches are plainer. A typical example is the H. Williamson watch of about 1915: black dial with luminous numerals, 7 jewel movement, heavy Dennison case, and the same issue number on the dial and the screw back beside the arrow. One sold at Noonans in 2020 for £160.

Royal Flying Corps cockpit watches

The Mark IV.A (1914) and Mark V (1916) are pocket watches built to sit in an aircraft's instrument panel, with long winding stems. The Mark V was made by Zenith, Omega, Doxa and Electa. Royal Naval Air Service watches were mostly 8-day, Royal Flying Corps watches mostly 30-hour, and RFC pieces carry a capital A over the arrow.

Source: Monochrome Watches, history of the pilot watch, part III.

Inscriptions and family history

An engraved name, unit or presentation inside the case is often the only link between a civilian watch and a serviceman. Keep any letters, photographs or medals with the watch: provenance that can be checked is what collectors pay for.

Silver cases of the period are hallmarked, which dates them. See how to read silver hallmarks and how to date a vintage gold watch.

Second World War: G.S.T.P., G.S. Mk II, Navy and RAF

G.S.T.P.: the Army's general service watch

G.S.T.P. (also stamped GS/TP) is the main British Army pocket watch of the Second World War. It is usually expanded as General Service Trade Pattern, meaning a watch bought from the trade to a common specification; many people call it General Service Time Piece.

• Case: plain chrome or nickel plated base metal, about 50 to 53 mm, snap-on back.
• Dial: black or white, luminous numerals and hands, small seconds at six.
• Movement: Swiss, typically 15 jewels.
• Marks: the arrow, G.S.T.P. and an issue number with a letter prefix, such as P 23766.

Makers named on catalogued examples include Helvetia, Leonidas, Cyma, Cortebert, Doxa, Tissot, Buren, Frenca, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Omega. Many surplus watches were sold after the war by the London jewellers Bravingtons, whose name appears on some dials and boxes.

Source: Helvetia History, British GS/TP pocket watches; auction catalogues from Fellows, Roseberys, Antiquorum and Sheffield Auction Gallery.

G.S. Mk II: Rolex and Elgin

Also found is the G.S. Mk II (General Service Mark II), stamped with an issue number beginning A. Catalogued examples are by Rolex and Elgin, with black luminous dials, dated from the 1930s to about 1940.

Royal Navy deck watches

A deck watch was set to the ship's chronometer, kept below in its gimbals, and carried on deck for star and sun sights. A four second error is about one nautical mile of longitude at the equator.

Look for H.S. with the arrow and 3: Hydrographic Supply category 3. Greenwich holds IWC deck watches marked G.M.T. or SIDEREAL above it, with matching movement and case numbers, white enamel dials and spade and poker hands.

Source: Royal Museums Greenwich, deck watches ZAA0114 and ZAA0172; Wikipedia, Hack watch.

RAF navigation watches

Second World War RAF navigation pocket watches carry the arrow and the Air Ministry stores reference 6E/50 above a serial. One in the City of Armadale History House, Western Australia, is marked 6E/50 A29768 and is linked to an RAAF instrument maker.

Railway watches and other countries

Railway companies issued watches too, engraved with initials such as GWR or L.N.E.R.: service watches, but not military, and they carry no arrow. In the United States, the Hamilton 4992B was a 22 jewel navigation watch with a 24-hour dial and hacking seconds.

Source: Science Museum Group collection, railway timepieces.

Case-back markings decoded

Most of what a military pocket watch is lies on its back. These four layouts are copied from catalogued watches; spacing and lettering vary from maker to maker.

All the watches above are open face; for case styles in general see full hunter, half hunter and open face cases.

How to spot a fake or altered military watch

Why fakes exist

An arrow and service number add a premium to an otherwise plain watch, so they are sometimes added to civilian cases. Dials are also reprinted and luminous paint re-applied: Antiquorum catalogued one Rolex G.S. Mk II with a reprinted dial and another with its luminous material reapplied.

1. Read the wear

   Genuine marks have worn with the case. Sharp, bright cuts on a scuffed back are a warning, although wartime engraving was often rough, so roughness alone proves nothing.

2. Check the specification

   A G.S.T.P. is a base metal open face of about 50 to 53 mm. The same marks on a gold hunter or a ladies' watch should be questioned.

3. Match the numbers

   Issue numbers are often repeated on the dial or case side, and deck watch movements and backs carry the same number.

4. Look at the dial

   Compare the print and luminous colour with known examples. A redial is not always a fake, but it lowers the value.

5. Do not fear Bravingtons

   A Bravingtons name on a G.S.T.P. dial or box is genuine post-war surplus, not a sign of tampering.

What is a military pocket watch worth?

Most G.S.T.P. watches by lesser makers sell for under £200 at UK auction. Better makers, G.S. Mk II watches and boxed Admiralty deck watches reach several hundred pounds to over £1,000. These are dated, named results:

Foreign currency results converted at the rate of the month of sale and rounded.

What moves the price

• Maker: Rolex and Omega have outsold lesser Swiss names at auction.
• Complete marks: arrow, designation and number, clear and matching.
• Original dial and hands: reprints and relumes cost money.
• Box, papers and story: a deck box, an issue card or a named serviceman's group.
• Condition: running order and an unpolished case help.

If yours is a solid gold watch carried by an officer, its metal may count for more than any service link: see how to tell if a vintage watch is solid gold.

Inherited one? Selling or valuing a military pocket watch

Start with what you already have

Many of these watches belonged to a father or grandfather. Before deciding anything, photograph the case back, dial and any inscription, and write down what the family knows: name, unit, ship or squadron. Keep medals and papers together with the watch.

Do not polish the case or open a radium dial.

1. Send photos

   Use the form below, WhatsApp 07494 214652 or call 01376 334482. We reply with a free valuation.

2. See us

   Bring the watch to 47 Maddox Street, Mayfair (by appointment) or to Braintree, Essex. See contact us.

3. Sell or keep

   If you sell, we buy directly and pay by bank transfer. How it works: sell your pocket watch. Chains too: sell your Albert chain.

Buying instead? Browse our antique pocket watches and the wider watch collection.

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