Sir Philip Watts autograph book to be auctioned

May 29 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

TYNE warship designer Sir Philip Watts compiled a list of autographs any enthusiast would envy.

The man who designed the dreadnought battleship and the Elswick cruiser which was sold to navies around the world kept the large, leather-bound book throughout his illustrious career.

He made sure he collected the signatures of every important person he met.

The names in his book range from Queen Victoria and King Edward VII to Tyneside artists Ralph Hedley and Charles Napier Hemy.

Among the hundreds of signatures are those of explorers Henry Morton Stanley, Capt Robert Falconer Scott and Fridtjof Nansen, leading Shakespearean actress Ellen Terry, Titanic survivors and heroes from the Crimea, Zulu and Boer wars.

Sir Philip lived in Grosvenor Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle, and from 1885 to 1901 was director of the War Shipping Department of Armstrong, Whitworth & Co at Elswick , becoming a director of the company in 1912. He also worked as Director of Naval Construction at the Admiralty. He died in 1926.

When his HMS Dreadnought was launched in 1906 it was the most advanced battleship in the world.

The book will be sold on Wednesday by Newcastle auctioneers Anderson and Garland and is expected to fetch between £3,000-£5,000.

Anderson and Garland specialist Steven Moore said: “It is a who’s who of everyone who was anybody at that time.