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Lot 102
US CIVIL WAR PERIOD UNION MILITA ARTILLEY TOP HAT, unusual, is made of a black beaver skin & stands 6” tall with a 1 ¾” brim, on front is a 3” wide brass crossed cannons w/ its Regimental # “2” attached, comes w/ an issue red cloth braded hat cord along w/ brass ordnance bomb on the side & a eagle “A” (artillery) button on a red cloth rosette & a black feather, its 1 ½” brown leather sweatband is damaged, inside embossed in gold is a US Army shield & its maker “F. Whiton / Boston 143 Hanover St.”, is very attractive & in overall great condition, VG++ - EXC.
Lot 69
WWI Pilot’s Flying Log Book.Strettell Miller (Flight Lieutenant W. H.), Royal Naval Air Service.A flying log commencing with a course at White City on the 24th March, 1916. Actual flying commences at R.N. Air Station, Chingford on the 2nd June 1916 with circuits up to 3000ft.The log records date and time, wind direction, machine number, passenger, time in air, height and course. In August, after 11 hours, 39 minutes of flying time, Strettell Miller moved on to Cranwell and in November, after increasing his flying time to over 47 hours, he moved via Paris to R.N.A.S. Vendome in northern France. During his time here most of the remarks are ‘instruction’ or ‘testing’ and include his first flight in a Bristol Scout. The instruction flights are with passengers, and given the flight hours, it is assumed that Strettell Miller was instructing rather than instructed. In June 1917, after almost 226 flight hours, he moved back to R.N.A.S. Chingford for more instructing and testing. In February 1918, he moved to No. 2 Wing, Eastern-Mediterranean Squadron where he flew Sopwith Pups and Camels, using a Camera Gun for reconnaissance missions. On April 1st 1918, (with 463 flying hours) he joined No 62 Wing of the newly formed RAF (British Aegean Group), flying Sopwith Camels and the Airco DH6. After photo-reconnaissance, bombing practice (including attacking a dummy submarine), formation flying, etc., bombing raids were commenced. In April he bombed Gallipoli Town and in May flew ‘To bomb Hun aerodrome at Drama. Several hits. Attacked two H.A. but they dived away showing no flight’ as well as searching the Theso-Bulgar coast ‘for hostile boats and supposed submarine base’. The final entry is for a Sopwith Camel flight on the 23rd May (written April) ‘20 Hun Seaplanes at Nagara, Dardanelles. F.St ?Whinbush? shot down off Straits’.Printed columns and titles, manuscript entries on approx 107 pages. Quarter morocco binding with worn gilt-lettered cloth.[Flight Lieutenant William Hogarth Strettell Miller, b.1893, gazetted Lieutenant (RNVS) 17 August, 1915].
Lot 756
Royal Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Books pertaining to Wing Commander J. G. Calvert, D.F.C., 640 Squadron, Royal Air Force, a Halifax pilot who completed a tour of 33 night time and daylight sorties against some of the most heavily defended enemy targets in the Ruhr valley; post-War, he subsequently flew another 163 sorties during the Berlin Airlift 1948-49 Five Log Books, the first a Royal Canadian Air Force Pilot’s Log Book covering the period 5 September 1942 to 7 June 1948, well-annotated with details of all operational sorties undertaken; the second to fifth the recipient’s post-War Royal Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Book covering the periods August 1948 to June 1951; July 1951 to September 1953; September 1953 to December 1958; and May 1959 to March 1965, some pages slightly loose, and the spines damaged and reinforced with sellotape throughout, otherwise good condition (5) £400-£500 --- D.F.C. London Gazette 22 May 1945. The original Recommendation states: ‘On the night of the 2nd February 1945, this Captain was detailed to attack Dusseldorf and during the bombing run his aircraft was attacked by a J.U. 88. In spite of this Flying Officer Calvert was determined to hold the same course, in order to allow the Bomb Aimer to release his bombs on the objective. The decision on the part of the pilot to disregard the danger of fighter attack called for the highest degree of fortitude and determination to successfully conclude his mission. Once again, on the night of the 17th December 1944, the target being Duisburg, this Captain's aircraft was attacked by an enemy night fighter a few miles from the target, and a running fight followed, with the result that the enemy aircraft was claimed as destroyed. Although considerable height was lost during the combat, Flying Officer Calvert settled down to a bombing run and it was not until his bombs had found their objective that the pilot set course for base. The above are but two of the instances where this officer has shown the utmost disregard for his personal safety, placing the satisfactory completion of his mission before all other considerations. He has also led his Squadron on daylight attacks to the most heavily defended Ruhr cities, displaying leadership and courage of the highest order. I therefore have no hesitation in recommending this officer for the non-Immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Cross. Remarks by Station Commander: During his operational tour this Officer has carried out a number of varied and difficult sorties which have included a series of attacks, both by day and by night, on Ruhr targets, and others of equal importance throughout Germany which were vital to the enemy's war effort and where the opposition was powerful. During this time Flying Officer Calvert has displayed consistent flying skill and efficiency of a high order, and his courage and dash have always served as a valuable example to other crews. His fine offensive spirit and operational record fully merit the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross.’ James Gordon Calvert was born in August 1923, and commenced his training at No. 32 E.F.T.S. in Alberta, Canada in September 1942. Returning to the U.K. in October 1943, and having attended further courses, he was posted to No. 640 Squadron, a Halifax unit operating out of Leconfield, Yorkshire, in early October 1944, in which month he completed six sorties, including two strikes against the Krupps works at Essen, a raid on Cologne, and two trips to Holland against enemy gun positions in support of the 1st Canadian Army. Calvert flew another half dozen operations in November, all against German targets, the first to Dusseldorf on the night of the 7th-8th, when his Halifax was coned by searchlights amidst heavy flak - and attacked by a Ju. 88. Bochum having been attacked on the 8th-9th (’Intense flak. Two searchlights’), and Gelsenkirchen on the 9th-10th (’Heavy flak. Saw several a/c go down’), he flew on strikes against Julich, Munster and Sterkrade. In December, after a sortie to Solst, Calvert and his crew were ordered to attack Osnabruck on the night of the 6th-7th, his Flying Log Book once more noting heavy flak - and a feathered port outer engine. Duisburg ten days later proved even more challenging, his Halifax being attacked on four occasions by an enemy night fighter ... ‘Destroyed same. Lost 6,000 feet.’ And a sharp reminder of ever present threat of enemy night fighters came again on the night of 5-6 January 1945, during a raid on Hannover, Calvert noting ‘Bags of N. Fighters. 32 lost on this night’s sortie.’ Luckily his trips to Dortmund, Ludwigshaven and Stuttgart in the same month appear to have been of a smoother nature. February 1945 witnessed Calvert flying several more sorties, including strikes against Mainz, Goch and Wanne Eickel, but it was an attack against Worms on the night of 21st-22nd that proved the highlight, his Flying Log Book noting, ‘Intense searchlight activity. Moderate flak. Saw seven a/c shot down by fighters.’ While in March, the final month of his operational tour, he appears to have enjoyed smoother trips against Hemmingstedt, Homburg and Witten. Tour expired, he was awarded the D.F.C. and posted to Transport Command. Post-war, Calvert joined No. 47 Squadron, a Hastings unit based at Dishforth, in which capacity he flew a remarkable tally of 163 sorties during the Berlin Airlift, between November 1948 and August 1949. He then instructed on Meteors with Flying Training Command, in addition to similar duties on secondment to the Luftwaffe in the early 1960s. Having then been advanced to Wing Commander, and attended the N.A.T.O. Defence College in Rome, he was posted to N.A.T.O’s Southern Europe H.Q. in Naples, from which latter establishment he returned to the UK in 1975; shortly after which, as a result of ill-health, he was placed on the Retired List. Sold with details of the recipient’s operational sorties, taken from the Squadron Operations Book; copied birth and death certificates; various newspaper cuttings; and other ephemera, including a NATO Defense College bronze medallion embossed ‘Wing Commander J. G. Calvert’.
Lot 214
Four: Sergeant G. Callister, Royal Marine Artillery, who witnessed the pounding of the Turkish forts at the mouth of the Dardanelles Strait in 1915 1914-15 Star (R.M.A. 10295 Bomb. G. Callister.); British War and Victory Medals (R.M.A. 10295 Sgt. G. Callister.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (10295 George Callister. Corporal. R.M.A.) heavy edge nicks to LSGC, otherwise nearly very fine and better (4) £120-£160 --- George Callister was born in Wallasey on 10 April 1884 and attested for the Royal Marine Artillery at Liverpool in 1902. Raised Gunner in 1903 and Bombardier on 20 September 1914, he spent almost the entirety of the Great War aboard the pre-dreadnought battleship H.M.S. Lord Nelson. Upon the outbreak of hostilities, Lord Nelson covered the safe transport of the B.E.F. to France. On 14 November 1914, she transferred to Sheerness to guard the English coast against the possibility of German invasion. Ordered to the Dardanelles in February 1915, Lord Nelson took part in the bombardment of the inner forts and supported the initial landings; engaged heavily on 7 March and struck on several occasions by Turkish fire which flooded two coal bunkers, she was forced to retreat to Malta for repairs - carrying a rather interesting souvenir in the form of a stone cannonball which landed upon her deck and was kept by Flag Officer Arthur Baker. Remaining in service post-Armistice, Callister was discharged dead from the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar, on 20 February 1923 in consequence of a tumour to his tongue.
Lot 74
A Great War ‘Western Front bombing party’ D.C.M. group of four awarded to Private R. J. McAllister, 3rd Battalion, Highland Light Infantry; ‘although wounded, he attempted to charge the barricade, but was forced to retire, being wounded again in three places by bullets, and also injured by a bomb’ Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (10062 Pte. R. J. McAllister. 3/H.L.I.); 1914-15 Star (10062 Pte. R. J. McAllister, High. L.I.); British War and Victory Medals (10062 Pte. R. J. McAllister. H.L.I.) a little polished, otherwise nearly very fine (4) £1,000-£1,400 --- D.C.M. London Gazette 14 January 1916; citation published 11 March 1916: ‘For conspicuous gallantry. Private McAllister volunteered to form one of a bombing party in an attack on the enemy’s barricade. Although wounded, he attempted to charge the barricade, but was forced to retire, being wounded again in three places by bullets, and also injured by a bomb. His bravery and devotion were most marked.’ Annotated gazette states: ‘Richebourg L’Avone, 15 June 1915.’ Robert J. McAllister served in France from 1 December 1914, initially with the 1st Battalion and later with the 3rd Battalion. He also served with the Royal Engineers and the Machine Gun Corps. Sold with copied research including gazette notices, Medal Index Cards and Battalion War Diary extracts.
Lot 9
A rare Great War M.M. group of three awarded to Miss Lilian A. Forse, Voluntary Aid Detachment Military Medal, G.V.R. (Miss L. A. Forse, V.A.D.); British War and Victory Medals (L. A. Forse, V.A.D.); together with a British Red Cross Society Distinguished Service Badge, gilt and enamel, by J. Gaunt, London, reverse inscribed, ‘L. A. Forse M.M. Replacement’, this last in card box, some edge bruising and contact marks, very fine and better (4) £3,000-£4,000 --- Provenance: Tony Sabell Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, September 2012. M.M. London Gazette 4 June 1918: Mrs Lilian Audrey Forse, V.A.D., attached No. 53 General Hospital, France ‘For courage and devotion to duty displayed when during a hostile air raid a bomb fell on the hospital marquee of which she was in charge. Although great damage was done and many patients injured, she showed admirable coolness in the performance of her duties throughout, and carried on as if nothing had happened.’ Lilian Audrey Forse served with the Voluntary Aid Detachment during the Great War on the Western Front from 23 April 1917. Interestingly, the correspondence address given on her Medal Index Card is ‘c/o Scottish Women’s Hospital, Serbia.’
Lot 104
A Second War ‘Cardiff Blitz’ B.E.M. awarded to J. N. Anderson, Dock Porter, Great Western Railway, for his gallant conduct in rescuing two dock workers trapped in the hold of the burning S.S. San Felipe after she had been hit by German Bombers in Cardiff Docks on 9 July 1940 British Empire Medal, (Civil) G.VI.R., 1st issue (John Nicholas Anderson) generally very fine £300-£400 --- B.E.M. London Gazette 8 August 1941: ‘During an air raid a bomb fell in the hold of a vessel in which six dock labourers were working. Anderson obtained a rope and descended into the hold in which a quantity of timber was burning and smouldering. After the lead had been given by Anderson other helpers followed. In addition to the danger of suffocation from the smoke and fumes they were working under the water line. Two men were rescued alive and sent ashore. Anderson and his fellow rescuers then dug into the burning debris and recovered the bodies of four men who, apparently, had been killed outright by the explosion. Anderson showed initiative and leadership and by his courage set a fine example.’ John Nicholas Anderson was born in Cardiff in 1909 and worked as a merchant seaman for a short while from 1924, before becoming a Dock Porter for the Great Western Railway at Cardiff Docks. On 9 July 1940, the Roath Dock was raided for the first time by German Bombers. The S.S. San Felipe was badly hit and six dock workers were trapped in the hold of the ship. For his gallant conduct in rescuing two of them, and recovering the bodies of the other four, he was awarded the British Empire Medal. He died in Bridgend, Glamorgan, in 1962. Sold with copied research.

Lot 184
Pair: Sergeant A. Rose, Natal Field Artillery Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Elandslaagte, Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal (39 Bomb: A. Rose. Natal F. Arty:) top two clasps somewhat bent; Natal 1906, 1 clasp, 1906 (Sgt: Tai: A. Rose, A. Battery N.F.A.) contact marks, very fine (2) £300-£400 --- A. Rose is noted upon the Nominal roll for colonial units as having witnessed possible service with the Commander-in-Chief’s Bodyguard and the Natal Volunteer Composite Regiment as Trooper No. 613. Sold with three small silver hallmarked shooting medals, engraved to reverse: ‘N.F.A. Sergt. Rose 1904.’; ‘Cpl. Rose’; ‘Col. A. Beningfield’s Shield, 1899’ - this last with shield to obverse further engraved ‘Gunr A. Rose N.F.A.’
Lot 35
‘Of course, I did not know this would be my last assignment in mines disposal work when I left the Admiralty before breakfast that morning and was carried by car to Hoxton. At the back of the minds of us who did this work was an acceptance that there probably would be a ‘last.’ In defence of our sanity, perhaps, to stop us leaping from the cars that carried us to each assignment, or maybe just in case we began to think ourselves heroes, we did not dwell on this probability. It was there. But suppressed. If and when the ‘last’ mine came … well it came. Several of our section had found it; some, less fortunate than I, did not live to tell the story. My ‘last’ buried me in rubble for several hours with my back broken and other injuries, and it kept me in plaster for the best part of a year.’ Lieutenant Jack Easton, G.C., R.N.V.R., as quoted in Wavy Navy: By Some Who Served. The outstanding ‘London Blitz’ G.C. group of seven awarded to Sub. Lieutenant J. M. C. Easton, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, a member of the Admiralty’s secretive Land Incident Section who was buried alive by the detonation of a parachute mine in London’s East End in October 1940. When eventually pulled from the debris, he was found to have suffered a fractured skull, a broken back and broken legs: his gallant assistant – Ordinary Seaman Bennett Southwell – was less fortunate, his decapitated body being discovered six weeks later Easton was no stranger to the nerve-wracking business of mine disposal, having earlier made safe 16 such devices, including one which had crashed through the roof of the Russell Hotel in Bloomsbury and ended up hanging from the chandelier in the main dining room: the grateful hotel owner presented Easton with a cheque for £140 - and an offer of Sunday lunch for his family for life - but both had to be rejected ‘as a matter of honour’ George Cross (Sub-Lieut. Jack Maynard Cholmondeley Easton, R.N.V.R. 23rd January, 1941.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, 1 clasp, France and Germany; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Coronation 1953, unnamed as issued; Jubilee 1977, unnamed as issued, mounted as worn, very fine (7) £80,000-£120,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- G.C. London Gazette 23 January 1941: ‘For great gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty.’ Jack Maynard Cholmondeley Easton was born at Maidenhead, Berkshire on 28 May 1906 and was educated at Brighton College and Pangbourne Nautical College, prior to training as a solicitor and joining his grandfather’s law firm in the City of London. Understated designation: The Admiralty’s ‘Land Incident Section’ A keen sailor, Easton was a perfect candidate for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and attended the training establishment H.M.S. King Alfred at Hove, Sussex prior to being appointed a probationary Temporary Sub. Lieutenant in September 1940. As related in Wavy Navy: By Some Who Served, it was at King Alfred that he was one of twelve officers who volunteered for a secret mission: ‘I was, with others, to learn that, as far as the Navy was concerned, volunteering for anything is foolish vanity. Within eight hours of volunteering for this intriguingly phrased ‘secret mission’ I, with eleven brother officers, was reporting to H.M.S. Vernon, the gunnery and mines school at Portsmouth.’ Here, they discovered their pending fate, namely immediate membership of the Admiralty’s Land Incident Section and a crash course in mine disposal: ‘So many unexploded mines were sticking in the ground or hanging by their parachutes that the small, trained band of R.N. specialists engaged in rendering mines safe where they could be approached was unable to cope with the work. Somewhat grudgingly, perhaps out of consideration for our complete rawness or from an expert’s distrust of the amateur, the R.N.V.R. was being called in to share the Navy’s task.’ Easton continues: ‘There were many speculations as to why the mines had not exploded, even on contact. But that their mechanisms would start operating again to even the slightest movement or tap (as you might start a stopped watch by the gentlest finger-nail tap on its face glass) was something known. Our warning that the mine was alive again was the ticking of its mechanism, and when we heard that we knew we had a maximum of twelve seconds to get to safety. In certain situations, this time margin meant nothing … as it meant nothing to a Sub. Lieutenant who died while dismantling his first mine: no part of him was found, not even a uniform button or badge. He just disintegrated.’ Easton’s first mine was located at a farm in Norfolk, buried to half its length in a chicken run: ‘I confess to feeling very much alone in the world at that moment: the farmhouse was, of course, evacuated, and my police inspector, and his assistants had gone. We worked entirely alone on our tasks, for although each officer had the assistance of a trained rating, it was the ‘etiquette’ of the job to keep the rating out of the danger area until the real fang of the mine, the bomb fuse, had been drawn. So I was in that farmyard quite alone. I don’t think I have ever been so much alone in my life. Our instructor had not mentioned this, as he had not mentioned the queer chill at the base of the spine. I gave one last look at the empty world I inhabited, then got on my knees beside them mine and began scraping away the earth … ’ After careful digging to reach the fuse, he emerged triumphant, as he did from his next fifteen assignments. 12 seconds to live As cited above, however, disaster struck on 17 October 1940. Easton takes up the story: ‘It was, as I have said, in Hoxton in the East End of London. One morning before breakfast a car took me to the district. As usual, I was greeted by the A.R.P. authorities, and, with my rating [Ordinary Seaman Bennett Southwell] by my side, I listened to what information they had. A large area of tenement property had been evacuated and ‘Unexploded Bomb’ notices erected round it. The tenant of the house, a bit excited and self-important, described what he believed to be the position and size of the mine. Then, supplied with all available information, the rating and I set off down the drab street. Those solitary walks towards the location of a mine always reminded me of the last scenes in the pictures of Charlie Chaplin. I had the feeling that a vast audience was watching the way I walked. It had been a last scene for several men I knew, though such morbid thoughts were absent that day. I was looking for the house described. It was easily discovered for the mine had crashed through the roof and made a great ragged-edged hole, and the slates littered the street and pavement. It was the usual type of working class home in the East End of London, one of a continuous structure of two-storied, drab erections, more miserable than usual because of the stillness, the emptiness of the houses. Through the windows one saw the miserable interiors, the little proud possessions in ornaments, plants, enlarged and coloured photographs of soldier and sailor sons, the parlour luxuries of poor folk. There was a rigidity and pathos in the long rows of small homes. The shattered roof was an outrage, somehow. The front door was open and I entered a narrow hall. The thick dust here was familiar and eloquent to me now, and I moved cautiously, in case a too heavy footfall set the mine mechanism going again. The door on my...
Lot 47
An inter-War ‘Naval Review’ M.B.E. group of nine awarded to Engineer Lieutenant E. S. Stribley, Royal Navy, who was killed in action during the evacuation from Dunkirk The Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Military) 2nd type breast badge; 1914-15 Star (271973, E. S. Stribley, E.R.A.3, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (271973 E. S. Stribley. C.E.R.A.2 R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; War Medal 1939-45; Coronation 1937; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 2nd issue with fixed suspension (271973 E. S. Stribley. C.E.R.A.2 H.M.S. Hood) very fine or better (9) £500-£700 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- M.B.E. London Gazette 3 June 1937: ‘For services during the Naval Review at Spithead during the ceremonies attendant to the Coronation of King George VI.’ Ernest Stanley Stribley entered the Royal Navy as a Boy Artificer and progressed through the rates during the Great War to Chief Engine Room Artificer 2nd Class. He was appointed Warrant Engineer in October 1923; Commissioned Engineer in October 1933; and Lieutenant (E) in August 1938. Between the Wars he served aboard H.M.S. Bruce on the China Station, H.M.S. Penzance on the Red Sea Patrol, and with the Home Fleet on Sabre and Stronghold. In August 1939, Stribley was appointed to the destroyer Havant and served in that ship during her short career on operations to Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and finally four successful trips from Dunkirk to Dover, full of troops. He was killed in action on 1 June 1940 when Havant was attacked by German dive bombers. Commander Burnell-Nugent later wrote: ‘…we got sunk on the 5th trip. June 1st was the last day of the evacuation and I think only one or two destroyers made trips after we were sunk. Lieut (E) E. S. Stribley was the Engineer Officer of the ship and I knew him well. He was killed instantly - literally blown to pieces - when a bomb from a German dive bomber hit above the engine room. I personally saw his body - or what was left of him. Badly damaged in the attack, Havant was finally sunk by gunfire from H.M.S. Saltash, as the ship was by then a total loss.’ Sold with named Admiralty condolence slip (Lieutenant (E) Ernest Stanley Stribley. M.B.E. R.N.), case of issue for M.B.E., and a letter from his commanding officer giving the above quoted details of his death.
Lot 461
VINYL RECORDS a collection in six boxes of EP and LP vinyl records mostly from the 1980's and early 1990's with Prince, London Boys, Talk Talk, Double You, Afro Dizzia Act, Carrie Ann, A Flock of Seagulls, Howard Jones, Billy Idol, U2, Marc Almond ( The Desperate Hours clear vinyl), H2O, Soft Cell, The Omen, E-Zee Possee, Wood Allen, Tony Scot, Human League, Voyage, Sabrina, Visage, Shellshock, Doug Lazy (white label), Porn Kings, J.J. Brothers, Ultravox, Gary Numan, Divine,Japan, Trio, Depeche Mode, Big Audio Dynamite, Bomb The Bass, Extreme, Extreme, Erasure, D-Mob, The Sample Syndicate, Deep Heat, Yazz, Numero Uno, EAST17, Soul II Soul etc Condition Report:Available upon request
Lot 630
Dinky Toys group of 3 Land Rovers to include (1) 277 "Police" - Navy blue, plastic canopy, red interior, solid light blue roof light and figure, (2) 442 "Motorway Rescue" - White and Red, including interior black jib and (3) 604 "Bomb Disposal" - Green including canopy, with grey accessories
Lot 102
'First Air Post' Folkestone to Koln Print by Sir Terence Cuneo: Featuring 4 signatures, including A.E. 'Ben' Gunn, Spitfire pilot who shot down the last V1 Flying Bomb over England in 1944, Gp. Capt. Dennis David DFC who destroyed 11 enemy aircraft in just 5 days during the Battle of France, Gp Capt. Cunningham CBE a fighter ace with 19 night time kills to his credit, and Wg. Cdr. Paddy Barthrop DFC a Spitfire pilot with 9 kills to his credit despite being shot down three times and held as a prisoner of war for 3 years. Size 60 x 84cm. Limited edition of 850.
Lot 101
'Sleigh Post' Russia 1919 Print by the Late Sir Terence Cuneo - Limited Edition: Featuring 4 signatures, including A.E. 'Ben' Gunn, Spitfire pilot who shot down the last V1 Flying Bomb over England in 1944, Gp. Capt. Dennis David DFC who destroyed 11 enemy aircraft in just 5 days during the Battle of France, Gp Capt. Cunningham CBE a fighter ace with 19 night time kills to his credit, and Wg. Cdr. Paddy Barthrop DFC a Spitfire pilot with 9 kills to his credit despite being shot down three times and held as a prisoner of war for 3 years. Size 60 x 84cm. Limited edition of 850.
Lot 414
London - history and topography. HAZLITT (W Carew) The Livery Companies of the City of London, 1892, thick 8vo, cloth; CECIL (Hon Mrs E) London Parks and Gardens, illustrated by Lady Victoria Manners, 1907, 8vo, cloth gilt; LILLYWHITE (B) London Signs, 1972, slip case; KNIGHT (C) London, 6 vols in three; no date, Virtue & Co, thick 8vo, half calf; BESANT (W) London City, 1910, 4to; KING (H C) Records and Documents concerning Serjeants' Inn Fleet Street, 1922, 4to, half calf; SAUNDERS (A; editor) The London County Council Bomb Damage Maps 1939-45, folio, LTS publication 2005, dust jacket; TOPOLSKI (F) Legal London, 1961, oblong folio, dust jacket; COLVIN & FOISTER. The Panorama of London circa 1544, 1996, oblong folio, and 30 others on London, mainly 20th century
Lot 63
In manner of Maria Medvecka (Slovakian, 1914-1987) Winter Evening at Orava Oil on board Signed by artist Framed Measure approx. 55cm x 38cm (21.5" x 15") Mária Medvecká (Slovakian, 1914-1987) painted the people and landscape of Orava, a rural region in northern Slovakia for more than 45 years. She began in 1940, just after the start of World War 2 and painted until 1986, the year Pixar was founded. It isn't an exaggeration to say that these years saw more change than the last millennia of human history combined, from the invention of the atomic bomb to development of international space programs, to the first steps towards the world wide web. But Orava, through the eyes of Medvecká, never changed. This lot is sold subject to Artists Resale Rights, details of which can be found in our Terms and Conditions.
Lot 582
WW2 Nagasaki Bomb 8x10 photo signed by Fred Olivi, co-pilot of 'Bockscar' which dropped the bomb on Nagasaki. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99 worldwide.
Lot 580
The Dambusters 8x10 Mohne Dam photo signed by Richard Todd and raid veteran George Johnson DFM, bomb aimer on the raid in Lancaster AJ-T Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99 worldwide.
Lot 583
WW2 Hiroshima Bomb 8x10 photo signed by THREE of the crew of Enola Gay which dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, pilot Paul Tibbets, Navigator Dutch Van Kirk and Bomb Aimer Tom Ferebee Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99 worldwide.
Lot 212
AUCHENTOSHAN 12 YEAR OLD THE LORD PROVOST'S SPECIAL RESERVE LOWLAND SINGLE MALT 40% ABV / 70cl Auchentoshan is part of a small minority of Scottish distilleries, in that every drop of whisky it produces is sold as a single malt. Similarly unusual is its use of triple distillation to produce a purer spirit that’s light and mildly fruity. Situated just outside Clydebank, the distillery was lucky to survive the 1941 blitz relatively unscathed. Only one of its warehouses was damaged by a bomb blast, and another near miss provided a blast crater that later became the distillery’s picturesque pond.
Lot 314
A MOST UNUSUAL INERT MOUNTED SINN FEIN HAND-GRENADE FROM THE IRISH WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, dated for 1920 and with cast iron segmented body approximately twice the size of a regular British Mills grenade, cast screw-in brass fuse-holder and rudimentary fly-off lever, the front bearing a brass plaque engraved 'SINN FEIN BOMB, Captured From Factory At 198 Parnell St. Dublin By The Cadets Of The Auxiliary Division R.I.C. On December 11th 1920', mounted on a turned teak wood base.
Lot 128
King and Country - Two boxed King and Country models. Lot consists of Limited Edition 'Fields of Battle' FOB69 Austin Bomb Disposal Tilly - (limited to 250) comes with detachable rear canopy - has a broken side window (included) which has become unglued and left a chip to the edge of the window otherwise the model appears to be in Very Good condition overall; together with 'Battlefield Backdrops' SP28 Oasis Well diorama accessory - appears Mint. Both models are housed within Very Good boxes with some general wear. (2) (This does not constitute a guarantee) (K)
Lot 334
° ° Rivers, Elizabeth - This Man: A Sequence of Wood-Engravings, number 89 of 200 on Corinthian Fine Text paper, 4to, original parchment, with pictorial cover 24 black and white plates, printed and bound by Theodore Besterman and F.J. Coton at The Guyon House Press, London, 1939, together with prospectus, the verso printed with a further engraving of plate 5, ‘’a woman’s son’’. Note: It appears probable that the bomb responsible for the destruction of The Guyon House Press, in 1940, might have been the same air raid that resulted in the loss of most copies and all the illumination blocks for Rivers’ This Man. (Exceptional Woodcuts from Elizabeth Rivers, Irish Art Review, Winter 2006. p. 66).Lt. marked and e/ps. spotted, o/w good, copy no. 89; the binding is a little bowed. Private collection from East SussexBinding 'bowed', covers lightly marked, endpapers spotted, copy no. 89, also inserted Paul Melloy Centre relevent 7pp. 4to print-out (Peter and Renate Nahum Collection Copy)
Lot 195
WW2 RARE Resistance leader Andre Heintz signed Operation Marathon Sherwood RAF Escaping Society cover. I n the period before D-Day, 6 June 1944, André Heintz was a member of the French Resistance in the Caen area who was able to provide London with valuable information about the German forces in Normandy. He was also able to alert the Allies not to bomb the Abbaye aux Hommes (Men's Abbey) at Caen in the immediate aftermath of D-Day as this was where thousands of civilians had taken refuge. . Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 76
RAF in Moray RAF Kinloss and RAF Lossiemouth signed Squadron print. Approx 44 x 29 cm. Tornado, Nimrod and Sea King images. Signed by Wing Commander Alistair Monkman RAF OC 617 2003. He received the US Distinguished Flying Cross and US Air Medal for his actions as an F-117A Nighthawk pilot during Operation Allied Force in 1999. Monkman flew a stealth fighter as an exchange pilot with the 9th Fighter Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, for three years. Awarded the US Air Medal on 6 April 1999, where he became the first pilot ever to fly a combat mission from Spangdahlem. He assumed command of the early portion of the 14-aircraft strike package while the mission commander was delayed on the ground. Then, deep in enemy territory, he delivered one precision-guided bomb and destroyed a large aircraft maintenance and repair hangar. His DFC (US) was awarded while he was the mission commander of a large aircraft formation. In the face of anti-aircraft artillery fire to their target in Belgrade, in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, he evaluated that the weather in the target area would likely preclude weapons release. He then flew a more dangerous route, acquired his target through a break in the clouds, dropped his bombs and guided them to the target. He then evaluated enemy air defences and safely returned to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. Post-strike battle damage assessment discovered he destroyed the target. He was Commanding Officer of No 617 Squadron 2003 - 2006. Obtained from collector with association to RAF Lossiemouth, this may be a unique autographed one off, very collectable. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 111
WW2 Victora Cross winner William Bill Reid VC signed 1999 Guy Gibson and the Lancaster RAF VIP flown bomber cover. Set with biography on A4 Page with corner mounts so can easily be removed if required. Reid was a 21-year-old acting flight lieutenant, serving in 61 Squadron when he took part in the raid on Düsseldorf, Germany, for which he was awarded his Victoria Cross. On the night of 3 November 1943, while still underway to the target area in Düsseldorf, the windscreen of Reid's Lancaster (serial LM360) was shattered by rounds from an attacking Messerschmitt Bf 110 night fighter, badly damaging the cockpit and rear gun turret. In spite of multiple injuries Reid continued on his mission, though was again attacked shortly afterwards by a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, killing his navigator and fatally wounding the wireless operator. Reid himself was further wounded, as was the flight engineer. A section of the Lancaster's starboard tailplane had also been shot away. Reid again decided to carry on, saying later in an interview that his main reason for pressing on was that turning back would have involved flying through or across the following bomber stream, with the danger of mid-air collision. Reaching the target, Reid released his bomb load and set course for home. Plotting a course back to Syerston, without a navigator, Reid gratefully noticed the searchlights of RAF Shipdham, a USAAF-operated base in Norfolk. Despite his wounds and loss of blood, Reid successfully landed his plane, though its damaged undercarriage collapsed and the aircraft slid along the runway. The wireless operator died in Shipdham's medical centre but five of the crew survived. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 207
WW2 Dambuster Les Munro DSO DFC signed 2012 Liege Armaments Raid cover. Rare only 35 were signed. On 25 March 1943, Munro, along with Flight Lieutenant Joe McCarthy and Squadron Leader David Maltby, were transferred to 617 Squadron to be part of the secretive Dambusters raid forming at RAF Scampton. The squadron was created to attack the dams of the Ruhr in an effort to wreck the industrial capacity of Germany. It was initially called Squadron X, as the speed of its formation outstripped the RAF process for naming squadrons. Twenty-one bomber crews were selected from existing squadrons in 5 Group. These crews included RAF personnel of several different nationalities, as well as members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), who were frequently attached to RAF squadrons under the Empire Air Training Scheme. Munro (the only RNZAF pilot in the squadron) took part in the Upkeep trials on 12 May; flying ED921. In Operation Chastise Munro was in Wave 2 in ED921 W. Of the 19 Lancasters that flew on that full-moon night, only 11 returned. Munro, as pilot of W-Willie, was scheduled to bomb the Sorpe dam. Over the Netherlands, his aircraft was damaged by flak which knocked out all communications, so it turned back to land in Lincolnshire, still carrying its mine. His Distinguished Service Order was awarded while he was with 617, on 28 March 1943. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 444
Original vintage Dutch World War Two propaganda poster issued in Nazi occupied Netherlands - Zelfbescherming Bezoekt de tentoonstelling in de Haarlemsche Kegelbond Tempelierstraat 35 / Self-Protection Haarlem Bowling Club from 28 February to 5 March featuring colourful artwork by August Frans Hens (aka Guust Hens; 1907-1976) showing a terrified lady holding a child below three silhouettes of bombers set behind a large red silhouette of a bomber plane across the top of the image, a bomb shelter covered in green grass and surrounded by a barbed wire fence below. Published with approval of the Department of Public Information and the Arts by Advertising Agency Arend Meijer. Fair, staining on image, folded, minor foxing, restored tears. Country of issue: Netherlands, designer: Guust Hens, size (cm): 77.5x53, year of printing: 1944.
Lot 488
Original vintage propaganda poster commemorating the 1978 Treaty of Friendship Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan featuring a dynamic illustration of Soviet and Afghani soldiers armed with bayonet rifles and a machine gun standing together protecting a group of smiling people in front of a mountain on the right side, supporting a wall marked Agreement on the Protection of the Peoples of Afghanistan with caricatures of people bouncing off the strong stone wall on the left side, the images including a representation of the counter revolution attempts depicting a man in white wearing a turban and holding a machine gun in one hand and a knife in another; aggression plans depicted as an American CIA agent in black sunglasses and a hat over his eyes; diversions and conspiracies depicted as an Asian man holding a box with a bomb symbol on it, a soldier and a man falling and dropping his knife with the papers flying above, set below a yellow background with two quotes in red above reading - Russia will forever remain the first friend of the High Afghan State. V. Lenin; We will continue to help Afghanistan build a new life and preserve the gains of the April Revolution. L.I. Brezhnev. Horizontal. Good condition, creasing on edges, restored tears. Country of issue: Russia, designer: V.P. Dobrovolsky, size (cm): 88x59.5, year of printing: 1980.
Lot 177
This well-cared for late model 180bhp SE would make an excellent entry into the world of these distinctive 1980s Lotus coupés. Launched in 1982, the Lotus Excel was a development of the earlier Eclat and shared the same well-proven 2.2-litre, DOHC, 160bhp slant-four offering 0 to 60 in 7.1 seconds and 135mphWell built thanks to a joint venture with Toyota, the Excel shared its 5-speed gearbox, drive-train, VDO instruments and electrics plus various other items with the bomb-proof Toyota SupraThis 1988 'SE' (180bhp) presents very well in Calypso Red with a beige leather interiorThe previous owner was a Lotus collector who totally recommissioned the car after a period in storage including new belts and a carburettor rebuildOur vendor continued to develop the car, sorting the electric windows and mirrors, sourcing replacement Hella front fog lights, new rear light assemblies and refreshed the front bumper paintworkIt's recently benefited from a mini-service, new plugs and leads and a replacement batteryThis lovely SE comes with its original handbooks and stamped service book with 13 stamps in it, a vehicle maintenance log, the very rare factory service notes folder, many old invoices and two keysSpecification Make: LOTUS Model: EXCEL SE Year: 1988 Chassis Number: SCC089912JHD12687 Registration Number: F357 OHV Transmission: Manual Engine Number: DN912880725146 Drive Side: Right-hand Drive Odometer Reading: 90000 Miles Make: RHD Interior Colour: Oatmeal LeatherClick here for more details, condition report and images
Lot 134
J. Robert Oppenheimer, born on April 22, 1904, in New York City, emerged as a preeminent American theoretical physicist of the 20th century. His early career saw groundbreaking contributions to quantum mechanics, establishing his reputation in the scientific community. However, Oppenheimer's most significant role came during World War II, when he served as the scientific director of the Manhattan Project. Leading the Los Alamos Laboratory, he oversaw the successful development of the world's first atomic bombs, which were later used in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Post-war, Oppenheimer's involvement in the Atomic Energy Commission was marked by tensions due to his opposition to the hydrogen bomb and his association with leftist causes, leading to the revocation of his security clearance in 1954. Despite setbacks, he continued contributing to theoretical physics and academia until his death on February 18, 1967, leaving a complex legacy that encompasses both his pivotal role in nuclear physics and the controversies surrounding his political affiliations.Measures 18 x 24.
Lot 161
WW2 R Smith DFC 617 sqn signed Raid on Brunswick Marshalling Yards RAF cover 2010. Rare numbered 1 of 20 on reverse. Has info card on the raid and career details. Served with RAF a Tail Gunner with 9,619 and 617 Sqn . Took part on many raid including the U - Boat - Pens, Brest . Lorient, Flying Bomb Sites, rocket installations and the Saumur Tunnels raid. and 8 raids to Berlin. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 162
WW2 John Bell 617 Dambuster sqn signed Attack on Saumur Tunnel RAF cover 2010. Rare numbered 2 of 15 on reverse. Has info card on the raid and career details. As a bomb aimer, serving initially with No. 619 Sqn and then No. 617 Sqn, John is a veteran of 50 operations over enemy territory. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 22
WW2 Wellington Bomber The Saint Collection of original photos set on A4 page. Includes photo of the plane with Saint logo in view, three crew photos including pilot Eric Stanley Baldwin DFC DFM had been an RAF flight engineer who became a pilot and flew Wellingtons, Lancasters and Mosquitos, take off and bomb loading. Stanley apparently flew his Wellington or Lancaster and kept the Saint motif throughout his war service. After the war he became a test pilot for Handley Page / Vickers and test flew various types including the Victor bomber and the Viscount turboprop. Flight Lieutenant Baldwin has now completed 121 bombing sorties against the enemy. He carried out a prolonged first tour of 68 sorties in the Middle East Command in 1941 and has now completed a further 53 sorties with this squadron. His list of successful sorties include 22 attacks on Benghazi and 20 on Berlin. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 166
WW2 John Bell 617 Dambuster sqn signed Attack on Rilly La Montagne railway tunnel 1944 RAF cover 2010. Rare numbered 1 of 18 on reverse. Has info card on the raid and career details. As a bomb aimer, serving initially with No. 619 Sqn and then No. 617 Sqn, John is a veteran of 50 operations over enemy territory. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 165
WW2 R Smith DFC 617 sqn signed Attack on Mimoyceques V3 site 1944 RAF cover 2010. Rare numbered 17 of 18 on reverse. Has info card on the raid and career details. Served with RAF a Tail Gunner with 9,619 and 617 Sqn . Took part on many raid including the U - Boat - Pens, Brest . Lorient, Flying Bomb Sites, rocket installations and the Saumur Tunnels raid. and 8 raids to Berlin. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 167
WW2 William Rupert 617 Dambuster sqn signed Attack on the Etaples Rail Bridge 1944 RAF cover 2010. Rare numbered 1 of 19 on reverse. Has info card on the raid and career details. As a bomb aimer, 35 operations including attacks on Toulouse, Wizernes, Pas De Calais, Albert, D-Day Spoof, Brest, Lorient, Tirpitz, Saumur tunnel, Etaples. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 174
WW2 Tirpitz Colin Cole 617 Dambuster sqn signed Attack on E-Boat Pens Rotterdam 1944 RAF cover 2010. Rare numbered 1 of 20 on reverse. Has info card on the raid and career details. As a Wireless Operator, he flew on Wellingtons, Stirlings and Ansons and flew 18 Ops on Lancasters with 617 Sqn including raids to sink the Tirpitz and the final raid of the war in Europe on Berchtesgaden. Colin enlisted at 18 in 1942 and joined the Royal Air Force. He underwent intensive training at Warrington and a number of training facilities at Blackpool and Yatesbury. As well as studying to be a wireless operator he also learned to be an air gunner. This was because it was an 'insurance policy' of sorts that if the aircrew onboard the Lancaster Bomber lost their first gunner the 'wireless op' would take over. Colin and his fellow aircrew were first involved in several practice bombing raids. At this time he was also carrying out a role as an inspector of the aircraft, specifically ensuring the batteries and electronics were up to scratch. He was sent on his first operation aboard a modified Lancaster bomber. The Lancasters had been specially modified with the removal of their mid-upper gun turrets and other equipment to lighten them, and they flew with a crew of six rather than the usual seven men. Carrying extra fuel and the 12,000lb 'Tallboy' bomb it was to carry. At 3am on November 12th, as part of a force of 18 Avro Lancasters of 617 Squadron and 13 from 9 Squadron, Colin and the rest of the Lancaster crew left the Scottish base and headed into the night across the North Sea to Tromso on a 2,200 mile round trip, taking 13 hours in total. Initially they flew low at only 1,000ft to avoid enemy radar but 100 miles from that target the entire aerial assault climbed up to their bombing altitude of 14,000ft. Colin and the crew of the modified Lancaster Bomber delivered their payload bang on target, and along with the rest of the bombers were successful in sinking the German Navy's flagship. He flew 18 missions as a wireless operator aboard Lancaster bombers, targeting shipping, U-boat pens, viaducts and cities on the German mainland. Ironically, one was the town of his grandparents - Koblenz. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 183
WW2 Tirpitz Colin Cole 617 Dambuster sqn signed Attack on U-Boat Pens Hamburg 1945 RAF cover 2010. Rare numbered 3 of 20 on reverse. Has info card on the raid and career details. As a Wireless Operator, he flew on Wellingtons, Stirlings and Ansons and flew 18 Ops on Lancasters with 617 Sqn including raids to sink the Tirpitz and the final raid of the war in Europe on Berchtesgaden. Colin enlisted at 18 in 1942 and joined the Royal Air Force. He underwent intensive training at Warrington and a number of training facilities at Blackpool and Yatesbury. As well as studying to be a wireless operator he also learned to be an air gunner. This was because it was an 'insurance policy' of sorts that if the aircrew onboard the Lancaster Bomber lost their first gunner the 'wireless op' would take over. Colin and his fellow aircrew were first involved in several practice bombing raids. At this time he was also carrying out a role as an inspector of the aircraft, specifically ensuring the batteries and electronics were up to scratch. He was sent on his first operation aboard a modified Lancaster bomber. The Lancasters had been specially modified with the removal of their mid-upper gun turrets and other equipment to lighten them, and they flew with a crew of six rather than the usual seven men. Carrying extra fuel and the 12,000lb 'Tallboy' bomb it was to carry. At 3am on November 12th, as part of a force of 18 Avro Lancasters of 617 Squadron and 13 from 9 Squadron, Colin and the rest of the Lancaster crew left the Scottish base and headed into the night across the North Sea to Tromso on a 2,200 mile round trip, taking 13 hours in total. Initially they flew low at only 1,000ft to avoid enemy radar but 100 miles from that target the entire aerial assault climbed up to their bombing altitude of 14,000ft. Colin and the crew of the modified Lancaster Bomber delivered their payload bang on target, and along with the rest of the bombers were successful in sinking the German Navy's flagship. He flew 18 missions as a wireless operator aboard Lancaster bombers, targeting shipping, U-boat pens, viaducts and cities on the German mainland. Ironically, one was the town of his grandparents - Koblenz. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 164
WW2 John Bell 617 Dambuster sqn signed Attack on Wizernes V Weapons Store RAF cover 2010. Rare numbered 1 of 15 on reverse. Has info card on the raid and career details. As a bomb aimer, serving initially with No. 619 Sqn and then No. 617 Sqn, John is a veteran of 50 operations over enemy territory. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 167
• HUGH CRONYN (BRITISH 1905-1996) Hugh Cronyn (lots 167-174)IntroductionYoung, impressionable and fresh from Toronto where he had studied with the Group of Seven painter Frank Johnston, Cronyn departed Canada with an irrepressible can-do New World outlook. His unpublished memoirs recount his pre-war years: his time at the Arts Students League in New York in 1929; the early 1930s in Paris tutored by Jean Despujols and André Lhote; bicycling across the Alps; and on his arrival in England his immersion into bohemian life in West London. From the mid-thirties he rented various studios by the Thames in Hammersmith and met many of the leading artists and writers of the day. One such was Ivon Hitchens, whose second solo exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery he helped hang. But most influential in his circle of friends was the critic, humourist and politician A P Herbert ('APH') and his wife Gwen, herself a painter and stage-designer of note. At their home at 12 Hammersmith Terrace, Cronyn met the likes of Edward Wadsworth, Mark Gertler, Leon Underwood and John Piper. Ceri Richards lived nearby, as did poets Robert Graves and Laura Riding in St Peter’s Square. He went on painting trips to Dorset with Julian Trevelyan, his neighbour at Durham Wharf, and to the French-Spanish border with Ray Coxon and Edna Ginese at the time of the Spanish Civil War. After the outbreak of the Second World War, Cronyn was commissioned into the Royal Navy. Put in charge of the Naval bomb disposal squad in Bristol dockyards, he was the first Canadian to be awarded the George Medal (GM). In 1942 he married Jean Harris and settled in Suffolk where from 1949-69 he was tutor of painting at Colchester School of Art teaching alongside John Nash, Edward Bawden, Carel Weight and Peter Coker (lot 174). From 1963 the Cronyns began to spend their summers in Quercy in the Lot, first renting a 15th century gatehouse and studio, then a small house, Les Vergers, before buying a dilapidated farmhouse in 1970 in Caufour which they renovated (lot 170). From 1974 the Cronyns spent the winter months in 3 St Peter’s Wharf, next door to Hammersmith Terrace, in one of the artists’ studios overlooking the Thames constructed by Julian Trevelyan. Cronyn's late paintings of the river, which capture the spectrum of colours as the seasons changed, document the river’s moods from winter mists to intense summer sun, and hang in many private collections (lot 172).167HUGH CRONYN (BRITISH 1905-1996)WOODLANDS, QUERCY signed CRONYN lower rightoil on canvas46 x 65cm; 18 x 25 1/2in (unframed)
Lot 29
• HANS FEIBUSCH (GERMAN-BRITISH 1898-1998) Hans Feibusch (lots 29-51)IntroductionTo stand before an empty wall as in a trance… to let shapes cloudily emerge, to draw scenes and figures, to let light and dark rush out of the surface, to make them move outward or recede into the depths, this was bliss. (Hans Feibusch) The son of a Frankfurt dentist, Feibusch had fought for the Kaiser in the First World War, emerged alive from the Russian Front, and had studied with Carl Hofer in Berlin and with Emil Othon Friesz and André Lhote in Paris. Come the 1930s he had a dealer in Berlin, had exhibited widely, and been awarded the German Grand State Prize for painting by the Prussian Academy of Arts. But Hitler’s rise to power threatened it all. In a meeting of the Frankfurter Künstlerbund which he attended in 1933, a new member appeared in Nazi uniform, jumped on a table and pointing at the Jews with his riding crop said: ‘You’ll never show again’. It was the moment Feibusch determined to emigrate. Arriving in London Feibusch had his first one-man exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery, and was soon a member of the London Group. Further exhibitions with Lefevre followed; then in 1938 he completed his first large scale mural: Footwashing in the Methodist Chapel, Colliers Wood. It was a commission that would result in Feibusch becoming the leading muralist in Britain. Working both for the Church of England and local municipalities, over the next thirty-five years he decorated some forty plus churches, civic buildings and private houses across England and Wales. His work contributed hugely to the re-generation of public buildings after the War and the debate on art in public places. But it also took him away from the Mayfair-centric contemporary art world and its critics, and thus to a large extent out of the public eye and the commercial art world. After his last exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery in 1951 he didn’t have another gallery show until the late 1970s. Instead Feibusch threw himself into large scale mural projects, designing the decorations for the tea room at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1946 (lot 50), and championed by George Bell, Bishop of Chichester, embarked on a series of commissions to decorate bomb-damaged churches that were being restored and re-built. These included painting The Resurrection and Scenes from the Life of St Peter at St Peter's Church, Pickford Lane, Bexley Heath (lot 48) and Angels with Infants for the baptistry of Christ Church and St Stephen’s, Battersea (lot 49). Feibusch also wrote Mural Painting a treatise on the history, theory and technique of the art in 1946, and wrote the foreward for the catalogue of the first exhibition of the Society of Mural Painters held in 1950. A consummate draughtsman, whether sketching his surroundings (lot 29), or studying the model before him (lots 30 & 31), he captures the scene before him with a fine eye for detail. And as a colourist, he responded to the light of his surroundings on his travels with a breathtaking freshness and immediacy (lots 35 & 36). But above all it is the manner in which he places the human form at the heart of his work with such ease and fluidity that leaves an abiding impression on the viewer and makes his work so compelling today. Exhibition Reference: The reference for the travelling exhibition abbreviated in lots 29-51 is: Chichester, Pallant House Gallery; London, Ben Uri Art Gallery; Northampton, Museum and Art Gallery; Eastbourne, Towner Art Gallery; Newport, Museum & Art Gallery, Hans Feibusch, The Heat of Vision, 1995-96 29HANS FEIBUSCH (GERMAN-BRITISH 1898-1998) VIEW FROM THE ARTIST'S STUDIOpencil on paper 16.4 x 33cm; 6 1/2 x 13in (unframed)There is a partial sketch of a seated female figure on the reverse.
Lot 595
Ephemera, a selection of 300+ items to include ethnic scraps, images of early 20thC photographers studio and equipment, 'Comforting Thoughts' booklet by Mabel Lucie Attwell, advertising cards, greetings cards, 12 photographs of the Mid Hudson Oil Co New York, children with toys, WW2 UK bomb damage, 4 photographs of Ethiopia circa WW1, signed p/c dated Aug 6th 1939 World Long Distance Sea Canoe Record. Lot also includes 1000s of transparencies. An interesting, eclectic selection (gd)
Lot 745
Postcards, Great Yarmouth, a good selection of 200+ cards to include bomb damage to houses and shops, Hippodrome interior and exterior, bowling, tennis, bathing pool, Haven Bridge, Breydon Bridge, shop fronts, Winter Gardens, London Boats, St. Nicholas Lightship, Lifeboat Crew, The Yarmouth Belle, S.S. Resolute, market place, jetty, greetings, Salvation Army, Beer Garden, Wellington Pier and more (all in sleeves, gd)
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