So why is a group coming up at Bonhams Knightsbridge on November 23 which boasts no such distinctions estimated at an astonishing £150,000-200,000? And it was awarded to a man who spent most of his career as a test pilot.
But this was a very special test pilot. Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown CBE DSC AFC RN (1919-2026) was a true flying great in his own right – a man who his biographer Paul Beaver says can “justly be called the greatest British aviator and one of the top test pilots in the world”.
He adds: “He was without parallel as a handling test pilot. He wrote the test flying rule book before anyone knew that a rule book was needed.”
The numbers speak for themselves: during 30 years of naval and test flying Brown flew more aircraft than any other person (487) and carried out more carrier deck landings (2407) and catapult launches (2721). He set three Guinness world records and a host of other firsts.
He flew 55 types of German piston-engined, jet-powered and pocket-powered aircraft and some of the world’s initial helicopter tests, imparting his great knowledge to others ranging from aermican astronauts to a new breed of German naval pilots.
And all that is before his Second World War combat record is considered, such as shooting down a Focke Wulf and badly damaging another in 1941, for which his DSC was awarded.
Bonhams medal specialist John Millensted says: “You get VC groups of medals and yes, they are worth six figures, but apart from VC action awards there is not much else – this Brown medal group keeps on giving and giving.
“He left the Royal Navy in 1970 but had been flying privately before the Second World War, sp that’s a huge length of flying, on 487 different aircraft – you could never do that now. It is quite something else.”
Brown died on February 21 this year. The group of seven medals has been consigned by his family.
Nightfighter Ace
The death of another British flying great was in the headlines this week. Wing Commander BA ‘Branse’ Burbridge, who was 95, holds the honour of being the RAF’s most successful nightfighter pilot. In the Second World War he shot down 21 enemy aircraft, including four during one patrol.
His medal group had proved successful at auction. The DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar group of six had sold for £155,000 at London auction house Dix Noonan Webb in March 2013 against an estimate of £100,000-120,000. It had been consigned by family so that Burbridge – who had Alzheimers - could receive the best possible care in later life.
Burbridge was the son of a Wesleyan preacher and, as a committed Christian and pacifist, initially registered himself as a conscientious objector. However, he felt increasingly uneasy about this and in February 1941, shortly after his 20th birthday, he joined the RAF.
