C 1935
JOHN PECK & SON, NELSON SQUARE, BLACKFRIARS, MANUFACTURERS TO H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE
A George V Black Leather Dispatch Box, numbered 10, with triple pronged Chubb lock & original key, and a brass swing carrying handle at the rear.
This box was used at 10 Downing Street, during, and after, the Second War by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill's secretary, Mary Mc C. Watson, whose name is engraved on a brass plate, which was fixed on the lid over the George V Royal Insignia.
A handwritten note dated January '86 accompanying the box states:
THIS DESPATCH BOX WAS OWNED BY MISS WATSON'S SISTER - WHO WAS SECRETARY TO SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL WHEN HE WAS PRIME MINISTER. IT IS, THEREFORE, ONE OF THE DOWNING STREET DESPATCH BOXES.
Width: 17.25 inches / 44 centimetres
Height: 6 inches / 15 centimetres
Depth: 11.75 inches / 30 centimetres
