Sir Winston Churchill pocket watch sells at auction for £76,000

A pocket watch once gifted to Sir Winston Churchill by Herbert Henry Asquith in 1905 has gone under the hammer at auction for £76,000.

The 18-carat gold watch, engraved with Sir Winston’s coat of arms, exceeded initial estimates of £20,000-£30,000.

Dawsons auctioneer Edward Langmead called it a “thrilling outcome”.

The watch went to a private collector in the UK after a “ferocious bidding war” at the auction house, in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

The auction house said there was “hot competition online, from the US in particular”, during the bidding.