2-720-505 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

British soldiers synchronising their watches on the front line, First World War, 1914-1918, (1933). 'Punctuality was no longer the "Courtesy of Kings" in Edward VII's phrase, but the "Safety of Soldiers"...all camps had a post surmounted by a clock by which all troops regulated their watches. In France before an attack, watches were synchronised to obtain unanimity of movement and perfect co-operation at zero hour - the name given to the moment of attack.' From "The Pageant of the Century". [Odhams Press Ltd, 1933]