Watch presented to Shah by Apollo 11 crew sold by Dorset man

The Omega Speedmaster was given to the Shah of Iran by the Apollo 11 crew following the first moon landing

A watch presented to the Shah of Iran by the Apollo 11 astronauts and later given to a Dorset pilot has sold at auction for £18,000.

The Omega Speedmaster was given to the Shah in 1969 during a tour to mark the first moon landing and he re-gifted it to his half-sister.

Princess Fatemeh Pahlavi then gave the watch to Robin White, a pilot from Dorset, in return for helping her learn to fly a helicopter.

The watch sold for £18,000 at auction.

Mr White, a former military pilot who worked for Bristow Helicopters, was based in Iran training military personnel to fly helicopters in the late 1960s.

Asked to teach Princess Fatemeh to fly, she presented him with the watch after her first solo flight.

When the Shah was overthrown in 1979, Mr White was involved in evacuating Bristow's fleet of helicopters from Iran.

His exploits were featured in author James Clavell's 1986 novel Whirlwind.

In 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts visited 23 countries, including Iran, in the "Giant Leap" goodwill tour

Robin White was given the watch by Princess Fatemeh after he taught her to fly

Mr White, who kept the watch in a safe for many years, said if it sold he would take his wife on a cruise.

"The Omega is much venerated but hasn't been seen by many people," he said.

"It holds lots of good memories for me."

Auctioneer David Hare, from Gardiner Houlgate in Wiltshire, said its presentation to the Shah by the Apollo 11 crew was "well documented" and Mr White's flight logs and photos from 1969 show "his lessons with the princess".

"As re-gifting goes, this watch is something quite special," he said.

"It's an amazing story - like something out of an adventure book."