Latest News Articles by Tom Derbyshire
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
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…”
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Entertainment memorabilia previews from the Fab Four in New York to James Bond in London
17 February 2020A selection of upcoming entertainment lots at auctions ranging from the Fab Four in New York to James Bond in London and Tommy Cooper in Stockport.
ENTERTAINMENT MEMORABILIA: Poster artwork is star attraction
17 February 2020The market for both film and music posters is booming but original artwork for such designs can also be a very collectable option for buyers.
Posters lead the way on road to music stardom
17 February 2020Concert posters from the earliest days of bands that later became famous are particulary sought-after at auction. Leading this selection from recent sales is a five-figure example from 1964 which promotes one of the first Rolling Stones tour performances, but many others are available at a lower price range announcing appearances at venues with evocative names such as Bridlington Spa Hall, Basildon Locarno Ballroom and Barnston Women’s Institute.
Gripping money-makers beyond Bond and Star Wars
17 February 2020Not all the posters making four figures at auction fall into the usual Star Wars/James Bond/Hammer/early horror bracket.
George Medal awarded to brave boxer who foiled Princess Anne kidnap comes to auction
06 February 2020When a kidnap attempt was made on Princess Anne on the Mall in London it was handy that nearby was a brave 6ft 2in, 17 stone former heavyweight boxer who without thought for his own safety rushed to her aid.
Antique arms fair moves from Olympia to Hammersmith
27 January 2020The arms fair held in the Pillar Hall in Olympia is moving to another venue in west London which provides greater space.
Whitby working life in focus at Swann sale
27 January 2020An album dating to c.1887 containing 64 evocative albumen prints by Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, documenting Whitby, England, is on offer at New York auction house Swann.
Medals earned by a Hardy band of brothers
06 January 2020Peninsular War medals featuring 13 or 14 clasps – showing how many actions the recipient fought in – are impressive enough in themselves. But three of them awarded to brothers who served in the same regiment, offered as a single lot at auction, takes demand to a different level.
Bobby Moore's first international cap as England captain sells for £11,000 at auction
30 November 2019The first cap as England captain won by 1966 World Cup winner Bobby Moore sold for £11,000 at a Shropshire auction along with an array of FA Cup and Manchester United programmes.
Sounding the Thunderer for the first penalty kick in a World Cup Final
11 November 2019The whistle that blew after just a minute of play to signal the first penalty kick ever awarded in a World Cup Final has sold for £4200 at a London auction.
Bunker Hill blast from the past
11 November 2019Musket that fired the first shot in 1775 American revolution battle appears in US saleroom.