Longines 'Weems' Watch Owned by an Acrobatic Pageant Pilot

Longines 'Weems' Watches - The Very First 'Rotatable' Bezels

With only slight miscalculations in timekeeping resulting in catastrophic outcomes in aviation, there was naturally a huge push towards a timekeeping solution for pilots and navigators. The 'Weems' system of synchronising a known time signal whilst in flight was invented in 1929. Weems was working for the US Naval Academy in Annapolis at the time, and devised this history-making hand-wound watch that undoubtedly saved and ensured the safety of thousands of pilots to follow. 

This system was a deliberately simple design and eliminated the requirement for additional chronograph complications that could possibly put strain on the movement. By introducing an external and bi-rotational 0-60 seconds bezel to the case, pilots and navigators were able to adjust and set their watch to a time known signal via the seconds hand, and secure the bezel with the secondary screw button (positioned to 4 on our model). The 'Second Setting' watch was born.

Weems watches throughout the 1930s were produced by Longines, but at the advent of World War II Weems' watches were mass circulated and as such dispersed amongst other watchmakers of the time such as Zenith, Omega, Movado and LeCoultre to keep up with the sheer demand on this technology. Primarily created for the American Air Force, two thousand further examples were supplied to the British Government for RAF use - these examples frequently bear their typical 'government issue' markings to the case back.

Interestingly and rather unusually, our watch does not bear any such markings - and in fact was owned and worn by an incredibly accomplished and skilled pilot who was 'grounded' from action at the advent of WWII for reasons outside of his control...

Pageant Pilot's Watch

Edward Robert Gort was born on 24^th February 1903 in Birmingham. He achieved his Aviators Certificate from the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom on 9^th March, 1928. Listed as a Motor Garage Propieter on his documents from the time, Gort appeared to enjoy flying with the Lancashire Aero Club, the oldest established flying club in the UK. Edward flew primarily as a hobby, but later used his exceptional skills to teach pilots, notably with the renowned Valentine Baker from 1928 onwards. 

Valentine Baker was nicknamed ‘Bake’ at the Lancashire Aero Club in the late 1920s. Mr Baker was famous for serving in all three of the British Armed Forces during WWI. Remarkably, in early 1915 whilst serving in the Royal Naval Air Service Armoured Car Section, he sustained a bullet injury to his neck, lodged near to his spinal column. This bullet proved too dangerous to remove and so remained there for the rest of his life. He graduated as a pilot in 1916 and was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1918 not only for his daring and determination in battle but also in training new pilots from 1917 onwards. On his return from the war, he trained pilots with the Lancashire Aero Club, where he met and taught hundreds of pilots including the Prince of Wales and Amy Johnson. He also taught prospective pilots alongside Edward Gort.

Edward not only taught pilots, he also ferried planes from manufacturers to various airfields throughout the 1930s, with his clients including AVRO of Manchester and Henley's Ltd of London. 

In a spectacular fashion, Edward partook in the hugely popular 'Air Pageants' that really captured the public's attention in the interwar years. Introduced to promote government funding for the newly formed RAF in 1918, these pageants featured all sorts of aerial entertainment for the general public. Starting with a few thousand visitors, the popularity in these pageants grew enormously, and the last RAF Pageant at Hendon in 1937 attracted a crowd of 200,000 spectators and featured 600 aircraft.

Running until the late 1930s, these fabulously attended events included airplane races, stunts, aerobatics and even aerial bombing competitions using cabbages and bags of flour! Purportedly on one occasion, Edward landed a bag of flour on top of attending policemen - much to the amusement of the onlookers!

Above: An image of Edward Gort flying an Avro Tutor plane G-AFBL with his wife in the front seat over Heston in 1936.

As World War II broke out in September 1939, Edward applied to volunteer with the Air Transport Auxiliary and a copy of the letter response from British Airways dated 15th September is present with the lot. The Air Transport Auxiliary was a civilian service that delivered aircraft from factories to the squadrons of the RAF and Royal Navy, as well as the delivery of supplies. Featuring pilots exempt from wartime service due to health, age and gender they gained a reputation for being able to take anything to anywhere.

It is likely that this Weems Longines Watch was issued to Edward circa 1940 to assist with the ferrying and transportation of aircraft as part of the ATA's wartime efforts. Gort's father however was German, and imprisoned on the Isle of Man - he refused to denounce his German citizenship and so at this point Edward was grounded from flying. 

Edward's flying helmet and goggles and navigation charts have been loaned to the AVRO Heritage Museum in Woodford, Cheshire.

Longines Weems Watches at Auction

Frequently seen with engravings to their case backs - Longines Weems Watches are a wonderful piece of military and watchmaking history. The reference - Mk VIIA code 6B/159 that is often seen adorning the case back of these watches were government issued issued to pilots and navigators.

Longines also bought out contemporary 'Re Edition' models of the Weems watches from the late 1980s, produced in limited numbers. One such example is the reference L2.606.4 released in 1995. This production run was limited edition at only 1,000 pieces. For a valuation of your vintage or modern Longines watch, contact our team via auctions@wilson55.com.