On Friday 15th August, I was kindly invited to attend the Victory over Japan 80th Anniversary Memorial Service at the National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire. A high-profile event attended by Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla and set amongst the many moving memorials to members of Britain’s armed forces past and present, the service comprised of a tri-service Guard of Honour, readings, musical accompaniments, and a fly-past by both the Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
By far the most emotional element were the readings of first-hand accounts of life (and of course death) in the Far East during the Second World War: some of these accounts were read by actors (such as Celia Imrie, Robert Lindsay and Anton Lesser) but the most powerful ones were read by the veterans themselves – both in-person and pre-recorded for display on large screens. Many of our readers will have recently seen news reports of how the words of Captain Yavar Abbas, 11th Sikh Regiment, at the age of 104 and accompanied by music on a sitar, moved both The King and The Queen to tears with their poignancy and honesty; the audience were equally as emotional at this powerful moment, and I certainly include myself in that number.
At the conclusion of the official commemoration and after a buffet lunch (where cold drinks were much needed as it was an extremely hot day!) several members of the King’s African Rifles & East African Forces Association held their own specific memorial service at the statue of the Askari soldier – I have been a member of this Association for many years because my late grandfather was an officer in the 1st Battalion King’s African Rifles during the Second World War. Our service was led by The Reverend David Coulter CB, QCH (a former Chaplain-General to Her Majesty’s Land Forces) and presided over by General Sir Richard Shirreff KCB, CBE (a former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe), whose father was an officer in the 5th Battalion King’s African Rifles. Amongst several veterans, we were also privileged to be joined by the Defence Advisors of Kenya and Malawi who ensure our connection with these countries remains current and relevant.
As a wreath was laid at the statue and prayers were read, it was a chance for us all to reflect on a very significant day – both in the wider context of the whole campaign in the Far East but also personally, and how it affected those we knew who played a part (no matter how big or small) in bringing an end to that terrible conflict. Attending events such as this also reinforces how much medals tell the story of one person’s war and how important it is that, whether we are handing awards for sale or display, we record their stories as fully as possible to do justice to their memory.
By Robert Wilde-Evans
MEDAL NEWS
We are delighted to report that the Medal Department’s July room auction of Orders, Decorations and Medals was another superb success with some exceptional prices realised across the board – not least amongst the section of ‘Foreign’ material, where there was fierce competition for a few rare items rarely seen on the market…which finally hammered at prices that astonished all in the room that afternoon!
The carefully crafted and curated sale of 310 Lots featured a number of star items, not least the hugely poignant and emotive posthumous Second World War Victoria Cross group of five awarded to 23-year-old Lieutenant WA Sandys-Clarke, of the 1st Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, who single-handedly cleared three German machine-gun positions and an anti-tank position before being killed by a sniper, in North Africa on 23rd April 1943. Together with an impressive archive of original material (including the original case for the VC), his group sold for £350,000. (Lot 167)
Interest in good-quality, early campaign medals remains strong with a Naval General Service Medal (clasp ‘Trafalgar’) to Landsman Peebles of H.M.S. Achille realising £9,000 (Lot 2) and a most interesting two-clasp Army of India Medal to a veteran cavalryman who lived to the grand old age of 108 (Lot 15) hammered at £9,500.
“Some of the greatest surprises of the sale came later in the day with the commencement of the section of Foreign Orders, Decorations and Medals.”
In addition to the Victoria Cross, another spectacular Second World War gallantry group was the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar, 1939-1945 Star with ‘Battle of Britain’ clasp, and further campaign medals group of seven awarded to Wing Commander Stanley Charles Norris, a Spitfire ‘ace’ who was in the thick of the fighting during the legendary Battle of Britain; along with his Flying Log Books and other paperwork, this iconic Lot (193) sold for £70,000.
More modern material, such as a post-Second World War Royal Marines Commando group of three awarded to Sergeant Michael Agar which featured a rare four-clasp Naval General Service Medal in addition to a General Service Medal and Royal Navy Long Service & Good Conduct Medal (Lot 53) made £3,200.
Turning to more unusual offerings, a gold presentation pocket watch comprised Lot 214. This was given to none other than Brigadier-General Reginald EH Dyer, otherwise known as ‘the Butcher of Amritsar’ who was responsible for that tragic and entirely avoidable event in India on 13th April 1919. The ‘Dyer Appreciation Fund’ gave him this watch as a gift for supposedly “saving India from Anarchy” and sold for £7,500.
Some of the greatest surprises of the sale came later in the day with the commencement of the section of Foreign Orders, Decorations and Medals. The Iraq Gallantry Medal awarded to Wing Commander CGR Lewis, Royal Air Force, who was among the first members of the Caterpillar Club (Lot 230) made no less than £4,800 against an estimate of £400 – £600. Lot 243 – a Kingdom of Iraq Active Service Medal with clasp ‘Euphrates Operations 1935’ – estimated at £150 – £200 finally sold for a truly astonishing £2,500!
Further surprises followed with the Iraqi material: a 1954 Flood Rescue Medal and associated Table Medal (Lot 245) hammered at £3,200 against an estimate of only £60 – £80 and a Child Welfare Medal 1st Class, in gold and enamels (Lot 252) realised no less than £8,500 against an estimate of £800 – £1,200.
Moving on from Iraq to Qatar, a 1st Class set of insignia of the Order of Independence (Lot 283) achieved £28,000 (having been estimated at £16,000 – £20,000); an early and rare Swedish Bravery Medal in gold sold for £4,800 (Lot 292) and the antepenultimate Lot of the sale, an Abu Dhabi Police ‘Falcon Medal’ in gold made £2,400 having been estimated at £200 – £300. A pleasing conclusion indeed!
From 5.30pm – 7.30pm we held our traditional post-auction Reception of drinks and canapes, which is always a wonderful opportunity to meet with clients and fellow medal enthusiasts to chat about our mutual interests in a more relaxed environment whilst surrounded by an exhibition-style display curated by Robert. We hope glasses were raised in celebration of new winnings in the sale, rather than the drowning of any sorrows at letting that special medal ‘get away’. With a selling rate of 99.4%, we were certainly in the former category rather than the latter!
The Medal team are already looking forward to the rest of this year, with an Online Auction from 11th – 25th September and our final Room sale of 2025 scheduled for 27th November. While we were sad to lose Claudia Eco earlier this year (who took to researching, writing and auctioneering with commendable aplomb), we are extremely pleased to welcome Annabel Morgan in her stead, and feel sure she will be an equally great asset to the department!
We hope glasses were raised in celebration of new winnings in the sale, rather than the drowning of any sorrows at letting that special medal ‘get away’.