A relic of Sir John Franklin's last expedition 1845-8. The remains of a silver cased pocket watch, bezel and case back detached. It was found in an abandoned boat at Erebus Bay, King William Island, in May 1859 by the McClintock Search Expedition 1857-9. The case has engine turned decoration with a leopard's head crest in the centre. The brass back plate is inscribed 'T. Cox Savory, 17 Cornhill, London 6050'. The initials of the case maker are 'WI'. The glass and the dial are missing.
McClintock's party reached this site on the 30 May and discovered that Hobson had been there a few days before on the 18th. The boat was 28 foot long and mounted on a heavy sledge. McClintock found it just above high tide mark pointing back in the direction of the ships and containing a large quantity of abandoned personal possessions and two skeletons.
F. L. McClintock 'The voyage of the Fox in the Arctic seas' p.367 'five watches'. It is shown on - 'Stereoscopic slides of the relics of Sir John Franklin's Expedition' photographed by Lieut. Cheyne RN at the United Services Museum, Whitehall, No. 8. The item was formerly exhibited at the Royal Naval Museum, Greenwich, Franklin Room, case 17.