Melissa Chambers Actor

Hans Wilsdorf was born in Bavaria in 1881, moved to London in 1904, founded Rolex with his brother-in-law in 1905, and became a British citizen in 1911.

When World War Two began, he was living in Geneva, running a luxury watch company from neutral Switzerland, and being investigated by MI5 on suspicion of N**i sympathies.

The program that cleared his name began with a practical problem. RAF pilots had been purchasing Rolexes with their own money because they considered the standard-issue military watches inferior.

When they were shot down and captured, German guards confiscated the watches before sending them to the camps. Wilsdorf heard about it and responded with an offer that was either an act of loyalty, a marketing masterstroke, or both.

Any British officer in a German POW camp could write directly to Rolex’s Geneva headquarters via the International Red Cross, which was also based in Geneva, and request a replacement watch of their choosing.

The watch would arrive by post with a personal note from Wilsdorf, often handwritten, reading: “You must not even think of settlement during the war.” Payment was due only after Allied victory.

Wilsdorf handled every request personally, extending the offer only to camps that observed the Geneva Convention, which guaranteed that packages would be delivered and receipts confirmed. Over 3,000 watches were ordered from a single Bavarian camp alone.