It had gone five o’clock

[SwissPete]

In Touching the Void, Joe Simpson, an English mountaineer, writes: “We hadn’t descended far before I realized how poor the light had become. I checked my watch and was surprised to see that it had gone five o’clock”.

Is “It had gone five o’clock” a British English expression? Does it mean “It was past five o’clock”?

Thanks in advance for your explanations.

 

[Loob]

Hi Pete - Happy Christmas!

"It had gone five o'clock" sounds strange to me. I'd be (relatively) happy with "it was gone five o'clock", meaning "it was [just] past five o’clock".

I expect "it had gone five o'clock" means exactly the same thing....

 

[Brioche]

Hi Pete - Happy Christmas!

"It had gone five o'clock" sounds strange to me. I'd be (relatively) happy with "it was gone five o'clock", meaning "it was [just] past five o’clock".

I expect "it had gone five o'clock" means exactly the same thing....

Um, I tried changing it to: "I checked my watch and was surprised to see that it was gone five o’clock” - but the sequence of tenses sounds wrong to my ears. had gone sounds just right to me.

Doctors differ, patients die.

 

[spodulike]

Hi Pete - Happy Christmas!

"It had gone five o'clock" sounds strange to me. I'd be (relatively) happy with "it was gone five o'clock", meaning "it was [just] past five o’clock".

I expect "it had gone five o'clock" means exactly the same thing....

Wow! That´s interesting. I am English and "had" sounds perfectly normal to me!