Gold pocket watch carried by Lieutenant Thomas Hare, Bengal Artillery, at Delhi, 1857

Made by John Hunt 1846 (c).

In the days leading up to the British assault on Delhi in September 1857 gun batteries were established within close range of the city walls. After a long artillery duel, they silenced the rebel guns and then made breaches in the bastions and walls for the attacking troops. A stray bullet struck Hare's pocket watch during one of these engagements. The capture of Delhi by the British was key to the suppression of the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859).