Neil Oliver's Grandfather's Watch

Neil Oliver chose chose a gold wristwatch presented to his grandfather when he retired from Cooper and Co's supermarket. On the back of the watch it says 'in appreciation of 41 years loyal service 1913 - 1954.' But, as Neil explains in this video, the inscription quietly glosses over a momentous event in world history in which his grandfather played his part: the First World War.

The fashion for wristwatches was essentially a product of the First World War itself. Up until that time men had worn pocket-watches - a watch on a chain. But they were less practical in the often filthy circumstances of fighting in the trenches of the First World War. And wristwatches made more sense - you were less likely to lose them.