Last week we welcomed Mr. Gustavo Coll, who donated to the Hospital the English clock that has been on our façade since the decade of the 80’s.
Last December, the English clock that had been on the façade of our Hospital since the 80’s, was reinstalled, having been previously removed due to remodelling works on the main building´s front.
This antique clock was built in 1917 and was donated by Mr. Gustavo Coll, who was Manager at the Western Telegraph Company for more than two decades. This clock constituted an icon for the Western Telegraph, as in each one of their offices in Montevideo as well as in Buenos Aires and Brazil, there was one of these clocks.
The Western Telegraph Company, of English origins, established the first communications between Europe and America through the telegraph, using the first extension of the first submarine cable. They settled in our country in 1865, making possible in 1866 the first telegraphic communication from Colonia to Punta Lara, Argentina.
In 1981, after the close down of the company, Gustavo Coll decided to gift this clock to the British Hospital moved by his closeness to the institution as member of the Hospital Scheme and the British origins he shared.
The management of the donation was carried out by Mr. John Hyland, who was Chairman of the Board of Directors at the time.
This antiquity was much welcomed by the Hospital and until now also constitutes an icon of our institution.
