Portsmouth Harbour Clock. Does anyone know the answer?

Thanks to the generosity of South West Trains, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway is now the owner of the Jno. Walker clock which used to stand sentinel at the Portsmouth Harbour Station buffer stops. It has needed a new pendulum suspension spring ( the railway's Museum and Archive Group is fortunate to have a member with the necessary skills). Apart from the fitting of a replacement (30 inch diameter!) dial glass it is ready for display in "Train Story" operational once again. Interestingly, underneath a coating of later colour paints, plus bird poo, the top seems to have been painted green originally and this has been reproduced.

We have a problem though. Was the timepiece originally at Portsmouth Harbour or what is now Portsmouth and Southsea? We know from the Southern Railway records (courtesy of Simon Turner) that it was supplied in 1898 to "Portsmouth Harbour" and was reference 7473 SW. The clock is unusual in that both dials remain in Pre-Grouping style without either reference to the owning company or bearing the "SW" suffix. Most clocks maintained by the S.R. & B.R.(S) maintenance company, the easily confused John Walker were re-lettered as if they had been made by the latter concern. Harbour Station was vapourised in the 1941 Blitz and even if the clock survived by a miracle, it is hardly likely the dials would not need to be re-lettered.

One correspondent, has a half memory from his childhood, that the clock went from Portsmouth & Southsea to Harbour around 1980. Is there anyone out there who can confirm this? So far photography has been no help.

Paul H