Noonans

After a somewhat chequered period before the war, during which his employment ranged from gold-digging and sailing the South Sea Islands to running a camel racing team and a betting shop, Lt Hubert (Ted) Carse of the the Royal Australian Naval Reserve ended up as a hero.

Hughie Green (1920-97) is well known as star of film, radio and TV, such as Opportunity Knocks – and a colourful personal life such as being father to Paula Yates. However, he also had a long and eventful career in aviation.

The Falklands War was 38 years ago now. However, for medal collectors the conflict is very much in mind, as evidenced by two six-figure results recently at London saleroom Dix Noonan Webb (24% buyer’s premium).

With the defeat of Catholic attempts against the Protestant monarchy in the 17th and 18th centuries, penal laws were imposed in Ireland.

A First World War ‘dead man’s penny’ memorial plaque awarded to a soldier believed to be the first black officer commissioned into a British army regiment during the conf lict and the first black officer casualty is coming up at auction.

A wealth of Indian and Islamic art and artefacts are available to view and buy in late October from both participants at Asian Art in London and auction houses whose sales are timed to coincide with the festival.

London dealer Jack Webb, who died last year aged 94, was known for the variety of unusual pieces at his Camden Passage shop, but the D-Day veteran’s personal enthusiasm was for militaria.

As heroic a defence against the odds as Rorke’s Drift, and certainly more important, the twin battles of Imphal and Kohima are much less well known.

Coinex, the traditional autumn focus for the numismatic world, is cancelled this year.

According to his family, this French imperial naval eagle was purchased by the dealer Jack Webb (1923-2019) from a ‘totter’ in the early 1970s over the counter at his shop in Camden Passage.

John Vernon ‘Jack’ Webb (1923-2019) was destined to be a collector of medals and militaria. On June 5, 1944, he was on a troop ship preparing to take part in the D-Day landings.

Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) – the first actress to achieve worldwide celebrity – continues to command attention as her work on stage and screen fades into the distant past.

A Zulu War medal awarded to a Victorian soldier severely wounded while fighting in the hospital building at Rorke’s Drift has been bought at auction – by a doctor.

A signed memorandum letter sent by Nelson from HMS Victory to one of his captains sold for a mid-estimate £3200 at a recent TW Gaze (18% buyer’s premium) auction in Diss in Norfolk.

Lemania is a name that should be as well-known as that of Omega or Tissot. The firm – dubbed by one watch blogger as ‘the greatest maker of watches that you may never have heard of’ – provided every single chronograph movement that those much better-known brands used until the 1970s.