Rolex Helped Them Survive & Escape

What do a Rolex watch, a Monopoly board, and a humble pencil have in common?
During World War II, these ordinary objects became tools of survival — and symbols of hope.

This is the hidden story of MI9, the secret British intelligence branch that turned everyday items into ingenious escape equipment.
From the Derwent pencil factory in Keswick, where maps and compasses were hidden inside pencils, to Hans Wilsdorf’s Rolex, which offered watches on trust to British POWs — this documentary explores how craftsmanship, precision, and faith in human ingenuity helped prisoners of war find their way home.

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📺 Playlists

🕰️ Watch Collecting Stories
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🏭 History & Manufacturing
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🔍 Watches in Detail
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🎖️ Watches in War: Time Under Fire
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🚀 Horology in Space: Timekeeping Beyond Earth
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🏎️⌚ Watches & Motorsport — Precision, Speed, and the Pursuit of Time
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🚴‍♂️⌚ Watches & Cycling — Precision in Motion
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⏰⏱🕰️⚙️ Full Bio
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00:00 Intro – The Hidden War of Precision
00:40 MI9: Britain’s Secret Quartermaster
02:02 The Pencil That Held a Secret
03:34 Working Overtime for Freedom
04:33 Hans Wilsdorf & the Rolex of Hope
06:57 The Makers of Freedom
09:42 The Legacy of Trust
12:45 Jango Fett is this an easter egg?

Rolex, MI9, WW2, World War 2, The Great Escape, Rolex history, Rolex documentary, Hans Wilsdorf, British POW, Prisoner of War, Escape equipment, Derwent Pencil Museum, Cumberland Pencil Company, Monopoly Waddingtons, Rolex Oyster Chronograph, Rolex Geneva, Hidden history, Watch documentary, Horology, Horological Ten Past Ten,

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