AUCTION

A watch which once belonged to former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill and symbolised his “vision of peace and unity in Europe” is going under the hammer.

He was presented with the watch in 1946 when he stayed in Switzerland, where he penned a speech ending with the words “Let Europe arise” and proposing “a kind ofUnited States of Europe”.

Reflectingonwarswhich “wreck the peace and mar the prospects of all mankind”, he called on European countries to unite and “dwell in peace, safety and freedom”. Sir Winston, whohad just been defeated in the 1945 election, was presented with the Lemania yellow- gold “classic gentleman’s watch” during a visit to the Swiss city of Lausanne.

Sir Winston kept the watch all his life and it was passed through his family, before being sold privately to the current owner. It is expected to fetch more than £25,000 at Sotheby’s when it is auctioned in London, on April 25. The watchshowswearandtear, leading to speculation that he often wore it.

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