Lot Essay
The Official Catalogue of the Royal United Service Museum, Whitehall, S.W., 7th Edition, 1924, p. 221, no. 3466 notes that a Breguet fob watch was deposited at the Royal United Service Museum by Major FitzRoy Somerset, 4th Baron Raglan, between 1921 and 1924; the same watch was removed by him in October 1952. The watch deposited apparently 'originally belonged to Lieut.-Gen. Sir Charles Crawford, G.C.B., who was British representative with the Austrians in the campaigns, 1793-6. He was severely wounded at the battle of Amburg. He married the widow of the 3rd Duke of Newcastle and through his political influence obtained in 1799 a seat in parliament for his younger brother Robert, later the celebrated leader of the Light Division. Sir Charles died in 1821 bequething his watch to F.M. Lord Raglan who used it until his death in 1855; in 1878 it came into possession of the 3rd Lord Raglan who wore it until 1920. - Deposited by Colonel Lord Raglan, G.B.E., C.B.'. However, the information recently recovered from the Breguet archive for the present watch suggests that this entry refers to a different watch - it would not have been unusual for there to have been two in the family.