INSIDER

This impressive list of awards and medals gives the reader some idea of the extent of the honours bestowed upon General Sir James Rupert Everard KCB CBE, who served as NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 2017-2020.

Many of the medals most sought after by collectors are awards for bravery. Not only are these intrinsically scarcer, they invariably provide a direct link to an act of valour which we can respect, as well as a story to research and share. Those of us whose education is based on British military history and the British military system will be very familiar with a particular way to reward bravery.

In recent times, we have all been reminded of the tragic loss of human life and the truly devastating damage which resulted from the bombing campaign of Britain by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War – more commonly referred to as ‘The Blitz’.

Venice. Simply the word conjures up a wealth of enchanting images – an island city of marble palaces built on a lagoon. Still a major seaport, it was once the centre of a maritime republic, the greatest seaport in late medieval Europe, and the continent’s commercial and cultural link to Asia. One of the world’s oldest tourist and cultural centres, it has held an unrivalled place in the Western imagination since the fall of the Venetian republic in 1797, and has been described endlessly in both prose and verse.