WW2 relic watch found on USAAF base - Returned to family

**ww2digger** · Sep 25, 2010, 01:08 PM

Hi all

Sorry I've not posted here for a while. What with a new baby and heavy involvement in another site I've kinda neglected this place. My apologies ! It won't happen again

Here is my story in video format.....

And here it is 'long' hand

On August 13th 2010, whilst metal detecting on an old WW2 USAAF base, I found the remains of a wrist watch. I didn't think much of it until I got it home and cleaned it. Engraved on the back of the watch was 'Oliver Jelks'. I decided to try and see if he was stationed at the base, and is he was still alive.

I suppose I was a touch lucky with this find as the surname is so unusual. A search of the internet quickly returned a site run by a member of the Jelks family in the USA. He is trying to complete the Jelks family tree and is tracing all the Jelks's in the USA. I e-mailed him and he confirmed he knew of one Oliver R Jelks Jnr who was a lieutenant in the US army in WW2. I thought that was a dead end until someone pointed out that the Army WERE the airforce back in WW2, United States Army Air Force (stupid of me I know but sometimes little things slip ones mind !!)

I then searched the US national archives (NARA) (put that in google and you'll find it easily), as their archive is open for public viewing, free, with no registration required. I quickly tracked down an archive with over 8 million entries entitled 'USA Enlistment records 1938 - 1946'. A search of Jelks returned just 15 results, only one of which was 'Oliver', and that was Oliver R Jelks Jnr. It stated he was born in Georgia (this tied in with information I already had), and served in the Air Corps. BINGO !

In the mean time, another member of the Jelks family e-mailed me to say that she had the address and phone number of who she believed to be Oliver Jelks brother, Edward Jelks. As I read that, another e-mail turned up also confirming this information.

I spoke to Edward just 2 days after finding the watch. He served in the US Navy in the Pacific in WW2 and is 88 years old. He was able to confirm a lot of details but not the specific location Oliver had been posted to. Sadly, he also informed me Oliver passed away in 1996

I then got an e-mail from the president of the official 'association' for the group that was based at 'my' airfield, a retired Lt Colonel. He has confirmed through the official records of the squadrons based there, that Oliver Jelks was indeed at 'my' base. He was a supply officer with the rank of Lieutenant, joining in early 1944 and leaving at the end of the war.

He even had a photograph of Oliver.

I had many conversations with Edward and on 12th September 2010 he received his brothers watch in the post.

The watch needed to be back where it belongs, with his family.

I was honoured to return the watch and it has brought the site into much sharper focus since then. Only when something like this happens do you remember what these guys did more than 60 years ago.

Cheers

ww2digger