Latest News Articles by Tom Derbyshire
Childhood scrapbook of double Victoria Cross winner Noel Chavasse sells to his old school
22 April 2020A childhood scrapbook including tales of valour written and illustrated by double Victoria Cross winner Noel Chavasse and his twin brother has been bought by their old school in Oxford.
Two very different Florence Nightingale letters for sale in UK and US auctions - plus dealer offers signed photograph
20 April 2020One to a lord about an Ottoman sultan, the other asking for six eggs - two very different letters from Florence Nightingale have emerged at salerooms in the UK and US.
Award for a voyage of non-discovery
20 April 2020In May 1875 the British Arctic Expedition under the command of George Nares (1831-1915) set off on a mission to reach the North Pole via the unchartered ‘open polar sea’.
Vendor not so sad about this price
20 April 2020On April 10, 1970, a Paul McCartney ‘self-interview’ ahead of the release of his debut solo album had been taken by the media to be an announcement that the band was no more.
Metal detectorist discovers Edward the Martyr Saxon boy king silver penny
16 April 2020A metal detectorist who was ready to give up for the day after finding only three .22 lead bullets then got another signal in the same area and dug down about five inches deeper.
Beatrix Potter bonanza as large collection comes up at New York auction
15 April 2020Early works from the ever-popular Beatrix Potter including original drawings or letters are coming up for sale in a New York online auction.
Paul McCartney 'Hey Jude' lyrics used in studio recording sell for not so sad $910,000
14 April 2020A break-up may seem an unusual occasion to celebrate but a US auction held on the 50th anniversary of The Beatles going their separate ways gave vendors and collectors plenty to cheer.
Fab Four in ‘ballroom of the stars’
06 April 2020One of the highlights of actor Peter Wyngarde’s estate sale held live, online-only at East Bristol Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) was a Beatles concert poster from 1963.
Sense of occasion suits the Peter Wyngarde estate sale perfectly
31 March 2020Peter Wyngarde would surely have appreciated the drama that accompanied the auction of his estate – held with the country in the grip of coronavirus.
Flag signals 1945 victory
16 March 2020This flag offered at East Bristol Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) carries inscriptions for HMS Swiftsure – British Pacific Fleet – 1945, and the Japanese cities Sasebo and Tokyo.
Naval success was right on the money
16 March 2020A First World War medal fashioned from a Mexican eight reales coin was an unusual feature of a group sold at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (23% buyer’s premium) on February 19.
Hong Kong could be key surprise result for military maps
16 March 2020Four military maps encompassing Siam (Thailand), Hong Kong, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia took an unexpected £3700 at the Peter Wilson (22% buyer’s premium) Arms, Militaria, Medals & Firearms auction earlier this year.
Badges: the big attraction at Stroud Auctions
16 March 2020Interest from bidders in more than 40 countries competed for what Stroud Auctions (18% buyer’s premium plus VAT) called a “world-class private collection of over 4000 military badges”.
Lancer lots charge into auctions
16 March 2020The Crimea medal awarded to one of only two officers taken prisoner by the Russians during the calamitous Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854 sold for £14,000 at London saleroom Dix Noonan Webb (25% buyer’s premium).
Bosleys moves auction from Marlow to Staffordshire and launches new sale format
16 March 2020Bosleys has launched a new format for its auctions, including a move from Marlow to Staffordshire.
Rev Garner: a man of war and peace
16 March 2020The Church of England was Geoffrey Garner’s vocation in life – collecting military badges his hobby
SAS trooper's collection: a special force of the saleroom
16 March 2020The best-seller lists these days will always include a good number of explosive memoirs written by special forces veterans and their heroic stories usually also mean high interest at auction.
Militaria: A woman's fight to serve
16 March 2020Before British female nurses could even help with the wounded they faced a battle to be accepted, as the story behind a medal winner reveals.
Bountiful barn find of Great War interest
16 March 2020“Something awful. Never witnessed anything like it before. After a bombardment of a week the Germans mounted their own trenches and the infantry reckon that every German had a machine gun…”
Celtic 1967 European Cup winners' medal for sale in Glasgow
02 March 2020The medal awarded to Celtic footballer Steve Chalmers who scored the winning goal as they became the first British club to win the European Cup in 1967 is coming to auction.