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J.W. Benson Gents 9ct Rose Gold Cased Mechanical Wrist Watch - Circa 1940's with Attached Later Leather Watch Strap. Case and Dial good condition.

Mixed Lot: An Edwardian small silver capstan inkwell, hallmarked Birmingham 1910 (loaded), a small silver dish with coin inset, hallmarked Birmingham 1905, makers mark S Blanckensee & Son Ltd, two silver thimbles, pair of small silver sugar tongs, small pepper, marks rubbed, a hallmarked silver caster lid together with plated condiment spoon, tongs and metal watch chain, weighable silver 82gms

Britains - Empty Boxes, comprising: 5 x Pre War Issue Empty Britains Figure Boxes, Includes: Set 120 - Coldstream Guards, Set 1283 - Grenadier Guards, Set 1634 - Governor General`s Foot Guards, Etc. & 3 x Post War Issue Empty Britains Figure Boxes - Set 11 - Black Watch, Set 2 - RHG & Set182 - 11th Hussars. Most Complete with Correct Insert Cards, Generally Excellent overall. [8]

14k gold swiss hunter pocket watch, the white enamelled face with Roman Numeral chapter ring and second subsidiary dial, L B & S Jacot, Locle, in fitted jewellers watch box, 62.3g. Inner cover also stamped 14k. 4cm diameter.

1970's Gents, gold tone Rotary watch in box, plus a pair of boxed cufflinks.

A 1960'S VINTAGE OMEGA SEAMASTER 120 AUTOMATIC DIVERS WATCH. 38MM ON A TROPICAL DIVERS STARP WITH OMEGA BUCKLE. WORKING AT THE TIME OF CATALGUING BUT NO WARRANTY GIVEN

A 1970'S ACCURIST RED LED LCD WRIST WATCH SEEN WORKING BUT NO WARRANTY GIVEN

A 1970'S LEMANIA PHILLIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL COMPANY OF MARLBORO GENTS AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH WRIST WATCH 40MM PRESENTED TO FORMER F1 JOURNALIST DAVID RAY WHO HAS CLOSE LINKS TO THE MARLBORO SPONSERED F1 MOTOR RACING TEAM. FEATURES A RARE ALUMINIUM CASE WITH PVD COATING. SEEN WORKING AT TIME OF CATALOGUING BUT NO WARRANTY

A RARE VINTAGE LEMANIA BENTHOS II 1000M DIVERS WATCH FROM THE 1970'S WITH A HEAVY 43MM CASE

A RARE 1970'S BULOVA ROYAL OAK AUTOMATIC GENTS WRIST WATCH FROM THE DESIGNER OF AUDEMARS PIGUET WITH BOX, PAPERS TO INCLUDE SERVICE FROM NOVEMBER 2024 AND SPARE LINKS.

A VINTAGE TUDOR ROYAL LADIES WATCH 1950'S MANUAL WIND SEEN WORKING BUT NO WARRANTY

Ladies 9ct Gold Wrist Watch from 1922. Hallmarked case with expandable plated bracelet. Hinged front and rear case. Antique mechanical wrist watch with similar aged case. Swiss made movement by R*S, 9ct gold case by R&S. Nice watch in clean condition.

Exactus, Mens Wrist Watch. Vintage 1950's-60's. Automatic mechanism. Black dial, gold hands. Case in used condition. Date indicator, centre seconds.

A collection of silver and silver plated items comprising a cased hair brush and comb, by J & R Griffin, a similar mirror, by S M Levi Ltd, a cigarette case, by E J Trevitt & Sons, a silver watch chain, a silver plated watch chain with silver fobs, a silver plated Port label, a silver plated pendant, a miniature silver twin handled sugar bowl, Birmingham 1897, a bangle, a cross pendant, a filigree flower brooch, and three enamelled silver fobs,weighable 7.2ozt (qty.)Condition ReportKnocks, wear and rubbing throughout. Rubbed and pierced/missing sections to the mirror, comb, and brush.

Lady's Tudor Oyster Royal stainless steel watch on bracelet, unusually small, 1940/50's Condition report:Curently working, hands adjusting as expected, case diameter 21mm.

A BOX OF ASSORTED ITEMS, to include a shrapnel fragment with a rose metal cartouche and bail, engraved 's Africa 1900', a string of imitation pearls fitted with a cylinder clasp, clasp stamped 9ct, a silver cross pendant, hallmarked Birmingham, approximate gross weight 13 grams, a silver and mother of pearl button hook, hallmarked Sheffield, a silver watch head, hallmarked London import, together with an assortment of items including a 'Raymond Weil' ladies wristwatch a 'Bucherer' brooch, assorted medals, a small quantity of coins and a pen knife, buckles, a selection of costume jewellery

A late 19th/early 20th century silver vinaigrette, of plain rectangular form possibly made from a reclaimed watch case, having marks for Chester to the base and marks for London 1908 to the lid and makers mark for Charles Cooke, along with two silver thimbles and one of silver plate, marks for Birmingham 1901, 1912, makers James Fenton & Co, J S, 20.9g gross

DUO-TONE YVES SAINT LAURENT MENS QUARTZ WATCH. 90's duo-tone Yves Saint Laurent Men's watch Quartz.

ART-DECO J.W BENSON TANK WRIST WATCH. 1930's, 9K gold, 17mm x 38mm. Ref. 23263, currently ticking.

1970's OMEGA GENEVE DYNAMIC WRIST WATCH. Automatic, navy blue dial, 39mm x 37mm, with original omega bracelet, serviced recently (proof of service included), currently ticking.

Rolex: A Lady's 18 Carat Gold Diamond Set Wristwatch, signed Rolex, model: Orchid, ref: 2908, 1970's, (calibre 1400) manual wound lever movement signed, champagne coloured dial with baton markers, oval shaped case with a diamond set bezel, snap-on back stamped inside Montres Rolex SA Geneva Switzerland and numbered 2908 060 334 1, gold convention mark 18k0.750, Rolex 18 carat gold textured integral bracelet with clasp stamped 750, with Rolex box and handkerchief22mm by 28mmCase and bracelet with surface scratches, diamonds are all complete, glass is clean, Rolex crown, crown is loose on the winding stem when hand setting, winding smoothly, bracelet very slightly twisted when laying flat, dial is clean, movement is clean, movement is working. Total watch weight 54g.

Cartier: An 18 Carat Gold Automatic Calendar Centre Seconds Wristwatch, signed Cartier, model: Tank Americaine, ref: 8172984, 1990's, lever movement, silvered dial with Roman numerals, Cartier secret signature at 10, date aperture at 6, curved rectangular case, synthetic sapphire set crown, back cover signed and numbered 8172984 01579, back cover secured by eight screws, case with convention gold mark 18k750, Cartier strap and 18 carat gold deployant clasp, with Cartier box24mm by 41mmCase with surface scratches, case with very minor dents in parts visible under an eyeglass, Cartier strap with very slight wear in parts, glass is clean, dial is clean, hand setting correctly, date changing correctly, movement is working. Total watch weight 51g.

Vacheron Constantin: A Lady's 18 Carat Gold Wristwatch, signed Vacheron & Constantin, Geneve, model: Phidias, ref: 16010, 1990's, quartz battery movement signed and numbered 776818, white dial with baton markers, case back signed and numbered 610585, No.1096 and gold convention mark 750, back cover secured by eight screws and stamped inside with repeated numbers and case maker's mark, Vacheron & Constantin 18 carat gold integral bracelet with a concealed double deployant clasp numbered 9671/11024mm wideCase and bracelet with surface scratches, bracelet and case with very minor dents in parts, Vacheron Constantin crown, glass is clean, dial is clean, hand setting correctly, movement is working. Total watch weight 68g.

Jaeger LeCoultre: A Good Lady's 18 Carat White Gold Diamond Set Reverso Wristwatch, signed Jaeger LeCoultre, model: Reverso, ref: 265.3.86, 2000's, manual wound movement, silvered dial with an engine turned centre and Arabic and diamond set hour markers, reversible case with diamond set bezel, case reverse with diamond set outer borders, case signed and numbered 265.3.86 and 1842988, gold convention mark 18k750, Jaeger LeCoultre 18 carat white gold diamond set bracelet with a concealed double deployant clasp stamped 75021mm by 33mmCase and bracelet with surface scratches, diamonds are all complete, glass is clean, dial is clean, hand setting correctly, winding smoothly, movement is working. Total watch weight 108.6g.

IWC: A 9 Carat Gold Wristwatch, signed International Watch Co, Schaffhausen, 1949, (calibre 88) manual wound lever movement signed and numbered 1147041, silvered dial with baton hour markers, seconds dial, case with down turned lugs, snap-on back stamped inside DS&S and a London hallmark for 1949, IWC strap and IWC plated buckle36mm wideCase with surface scratches, case with very minor dents in parts which are only visible under an eyeglass, crown is not by IWC, later strap and buckle is by IWC, plexi glass with minor scratches, dial is clean, hands with small staining marks visible under an eyeglass, hand setting correctly and winding smoothly, movement is working. Total watch weight 43g.

Omega: An 18 Carat Gold Automatic Calendar Centre Seconds Wristwatch, signed Omega, Geneve, model: Dynamic, 1970's, lever movement, champagne coloured textured dial with baton markers, date aperture, oval shaped case with screw back, Omega 18 carat gold bracelet with a deployant clasp numbered 366.821 and stamped 75041mm wideCase and bracelet with surface scratches, case bezel and sides with minor dents in parts, Omega crown with dents and worn, plexi glass with small scratches, dial with scratches, hand setting correctly, date is changing correctly, movement is working. Total watch weight 131.3g.

20th century silver photo frames, one oval example hallmarked 1909, together with a four cameo photo frame, John Bull Ltd, London, 1989, a hammered finish pocket watch holder frame, Charles S Green & Co Ltd, Birmingham, 1905 and a silver wishbone pocket watch stand, Sydney & Co, Birmingham, 1907

Selena Corsellis Obras de Santa Engrácia 3/3, 2024 Oil and pigments on gesso Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Corsellis' delicate paintings explore the interplay of light and shadow within interior spaces, capturing fleeting, existential moments in ambiguous, often desolate settings. These shifting movements of light and shadow she depicts mirror the fluid and uncertain nature of our own lives, drawing a connection between the external world and the internal sense of awe and contemplation it evokes. Through both intimate and expansive compositions, Corsellis' aim is to provide moments of contemplation, rumination and empirical insight. Education 2020-2024 BA Fine Art from Leeds University of Art Group Exhibitions 2024 Ones to Watch Exhibition at Sunny Bank Mills, Yorkshire, Leeds Within and Without, Liliya Gallery Putney, London 2023 Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, London Statement about AOAP Submitted Artwork The three paintings, titled Obras de Santa Engrácia, depict the stairwells of Lisbon's National Pantheon. Each work explores the interplay of light and shadow, guiding the viewer through passages that seem to have no clear beginning or end. This reflects the metaphorical essence of the title, symbolizing the perpetual, ongoing process of constructing the Santa Engrácia church-an endeavour that, in a way much like the paintings themselves, is never truly completed. You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.

Jackie Berridge Dwelling II, 2025 Oil on primed paper Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Zsofia Schweger (b. 1989, Szeged) is a Hungarian artist based in London. Zsofia had lived in the US for 5 years and studied at Wellesley College in the Boston area, before she moved to London in 2013. She then attended the Slade School of Fine Art, graduating with an MA in 2015. Zsofia's work in painting is informed by her experience of moving countries: she is interested in human relationships to spaces in general and the notions of home and belonging in particular. In her paintings of domestic and public interiors, Zsofia uses reductive paint application, flat panels of colour and a muted palette in order to express a sense of both alienation and comfort. Zsofia was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2016 and Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2017. She has been supported by several generous prizes, including the Jealous Prize, Griffin Art Prize, the Alice C. Cole Award, and the 'One To Watch' Award. Since her first solo exhibition at Griffin Gallery in London in 2016, she has had solo shows at Edel Assanti (London), Sapar Contemporary (New York), Lundgren Gallery (Palma), Inda Gallery (Budapest) and Rutger Brandt Gallery (Amsterdam). Her first institutional solo exhibition was held in 2022 at Romer Floris Muzeum in Gyor, Hungary. Zsofia's work is represented by Sapar Contemporary (New York) and Inda Gallery (Hungary). You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.

Bianca Maria Raffaella Courcheval it Night, 2025 Acrylic on paper Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Bianca Raffaella (b 1992, London) Working from memory and sensory cues rather than direct observation, Bianca Raffaella is a British artist and activist currently based in Margate. As a partially sighted artist, her ephemeral floral and figurative paintings draw viewers into her world by capturing fleeting moments suspended in persistent vision, where her sight is in constant motion, and images appear only briefly as faint shadows or flickers of light. Raffaella's ongoing series of textural flower paintings evoke the artist's experience of beauty in braille, which was how she first learned to read and write. Raffaella relies on touch in her painting process. Never losing contact with the canvas, she blends delicate hues of blue, beige, and dusty pink until they become an ethereal impression, cloudy details made with fingertips, brushstrokes or scrapes of a palette knife. Graduating with a First-Class Honours degree in 2016, Bianca Raffaella was the first registered blind student to graduate from Kingston University with a degree in the Visual Arts. Since completing her 2023/4 residency at the Tracey Emin Artist Residency (TEAR), Raffaella now works from TKE Studios, where she uses gestural fragments and impasto techniques to capture motion and visual shifts on the canvas. In 2021, Raffaella's work was selected for the Royal Academy of Arts' Summer Exhibition, coordinated by Yinka Shonibare, followed by her solo exhibition, Hushed Impressions, at Orleans House Gallery in 2023. She was also awarded the NatWest Entrepreneurship Funding Prize in 2019 for her bespoke sensory fashion label. An advocate for accessibility in the arts, Raffaella has shared her insights as a speaker at the Goethe Institut's Beyond Seeing project and as a panellist at Tate Modern's Please Touch the Art talk. Most recently, she was selected by Dame Tracey Emin for Flowers Gallery's 2024 Artist of the Day series, presenting a one-day solo exhibition as part of the programme's 25th edition. Education 2013-16 BA, Kingston University London [The first registered blind student to graduate from Kingston University with a First-class degree in the visual arts.] Solo Exhibitions 2025 Faint Memories, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2024 Artist of the Day, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2023 Hushed Impressions, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Group Exhibitions 2024 TEARS: The Final Show, TKE Studios, Margate, UK Small is Beautiful: 42nd Edition, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK Artist of the Day: Group Show, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2023 TEARS, TKE Studios, Margate, UK 2022 Layers of Vision, Bush House, London, UK 2021 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK Breaking Ground, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Awards 2024 Artist of the Day, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK Three To Watch, Hotly tipped female talent of the British art scene, Harper's Bazaar Magazine UK 2023 Tracey Emin Artist Residency (TEAR) 2023-24, TKE Studios, Margate, UK 2022 Artist-in-residence 2022-23, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Commissioned by King's College London in collaboration with Shape Arts and AccessArt Gallery Representation Flowers Gallery (London New York Hong Kong) Public Collections Tracey Emin Foundation (Margate, UK) Statement about AOAP Submitted Artwork Four impressions from recent memories of Courchevel, in the Tarentaise Valley, France. You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.

Zsofia Schweger Postcard from Home, 2025 Colour pencil on paper Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Zsofia Schweger (b. 1989, Szeged) is a Hungarian artist based in London. Zsofia had lived in the US for 5 years and studied at Wellesley College in the Boston area, before she moved to London in 2013. She then attended the Slade School of Fine Art, graduating with an MA in 2015. Zsofia's work in painting is informed by her experience of moving countries: she is interested in human relationships to spaces in general and the notions of home and belonging in particular. In her paintings of domestic and public interiors, Zsofia uses reductive paint application, flat panels of colour and a muted palette in order to express a sense of both alienation and comfort. Zsofia was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2016 and Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2017. She has been supported by several generous prizes, including the Jealous Prize, Griffin Art Prize, the Alice C. Cole Award, and the 'One To Watch' Award. Since her first solo exhibition at Griffin Gallery in London in 2016, she has had solo shows at Edel Assanti (London), Sapar Contemporary (New York), Lundgren Gallery (Palma), Inda Gallery (Budapest) and Rutger Brandt Gallery (Amsterdam). Her first institutional solo exhibition was held in 2022 at Romer Floris Muzeum in Gyor, Hungary. Zsofia's work is represented by Sapar Contemporary (New York) and Inda Gallery (Hungary). You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.

Hae-jin Yoo Woman in the Bath 'a', 2025 Oil on paper Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Haejin Yoo is a contemporary artist whose work explores themes of identity, persona, and introspection. Working primarily with oil and acrylic paints, she incorporates mixed media such as textiles, carpentry, and spray paint to push the boundaries of traditional canvas art and create immersive, surrealistic expressions. Her celebrated Woman in the Bath series reflects on private thoughts and the fluid nature of identity, drawing inspiration from the intimate setting of the bathroom. Haejin's art has earned numerous accolades, including 2nd prize in the 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: RAYMAR Traditional Art Award, being named one of Saatchi Art's Rising Stars for 2024, and winning the First Prize Abstract Award at FIRA International Art Fair Barcelona (2022). After nearly eight years living and exhibiting in Germany, Haejin has returned to Sydney, Australia, where she continues to explore new mediums and themes, further expanding her artistic practice.   Education Self-taught   Solo Exhibitions 2021 Artland Online Solo Exhibition, represented by Azaro Artspaces   Group Exhibitions 2025 BFF Modern Portraits, 33 Contemporary Gallery, USA Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, USA Nanny Goat Gallery, Petaluma, CA, USA Daughters of Eve, Quirky Fox Gallery, New Zealand Gems, Quirky Fox Gallery, New Zealand 2024 Woman in the Bath VI exhibited during HUGFest 2024, Canvas 3.0 Gallery, Oculus, New York City, USA The Other Art Fair, London, UK Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Exhibition, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA 2023 The Other Art Fair, Los Angeles, USA The Other Art Fair, London, UK 2022 Impronte d'Arte, Bergamo, Italy (WINNER: Artist Expert Award, presented by Prof. Vittorio Sgarbi) Fira Internacional d'Art, Barcelona, Spain (WINNER: First Prize Abstract Award)   Awards 2024 2nd Prize, Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: RAYMAR Traditional Art Award Saatchi Art Rising Star, Saatchi Art HUG100 Artists to Watch, HUG Finalist, Boynes Artist Award: 10th Edition 2023 Merit Prize Award, Teravarna International Juried Art Competition   You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.

Phoebe Boddy Cowgirl, 2025 Oil pastel on paper Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Phoebe Boddy is a London-based emerging artist. Her abstract, figurative, expressionist paintings focus on the mundane, weaving exhilarating compositions that celebrate the everyday. Whether it is a painting of a fruit stand from the market or a bathtub scene, Boddy amplifies the beauty in everyday life through her energised brushstrokes, infused with bold outlines and vibrant colours while often adding a sprinkle of humour through witty text written on the canvas.   Education 2017 Fine Arts BA (Hons), Loughborough University   2014 UAL Level 3 Diploma Art & Design Foundation Studies   Solo Exhibitions 2024 Reverse Cowgirl, Nomad Salon, London, UK   Group Exhibitions 2024 A Living Room, Interrupted Art, The Fitzrovia Gallery, London, UK Art on a Postcard, International Women's Day Auction, London, UK   2023 Delphian Open Call 2023, Unit 1 Gallery Workshop, London, UK Papier, Delphian Gallery, France Art Collector's Home, The Nomad Salon, London, UK The Silo Collective, Group Show, Hampshire, UK Beyond Beck Road, Beck Road Open Studios, London, UK Women to Watch, Reem Gallery, London, UK May Collection, Amelia Maxwell, Online Show Kensington & Chelsea Art Week, London, UK   2022 The Auction Collective, 50 X £50, Online The Other Art Fair, The Truman Brewery, London, UK [RE]Configured, Mall Galleries, London, UK Fancy a Bite?, Studio West Gallery, Notting Hill, UK Kensington & Chelsea Art Week, London, UK Pie in the Sky, PALETTE, Protein Studios, London, UK Hive Open Studios, The Koppel Project, London, UK Aubaine Restaurant, London, UK Collection Two, Katherine Richards Art Gallery, Hove, UK   Awards 2021 Figurative Art Prize, Mall Galleries Kate Bryan Prize Nominee   2020 Directors Pick, SAATCHI ART   Statement about AOAP Submitted Artwork My current work delves into representations of women for the female gaze. 'Cowgirl' & 'Just Have Another Beer Then' features paintings of badass female figures empowered by embodying the traditional cowboy persona, exuding the tough, masculine energy long associated with Western Cowboy culture.   You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.

Bianca Maria Raffaella Courcheval Early Morning, 2025 Acrylic on paper Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Bianca Raffaella (b 1992, London) Working from memory and sensory cues rather than direct observation, Bianca Raffaella is a British artist and activist currently based in Margate. As a partially sighted artist, her ephemeral floral and figurative paintings draw viewers into her world by capturing fleeting moments suspended in persistent vision, where her sight is in constant motion, and images appear only briefly as faint shadows or flickers of light. Raffaella's ongoing series of textural flower paintings evoke the artist's experience of beauty in braille, which was how she first learned to read and write. Raffaella relies on touch in her painting process. Never losing contact with the canvas, she blends delicate hues of blue, beige, and dusty pink until they become an ethereal impression, cloudy details made with fingertips, brushstrokes or scrapes of a palette knife. Graduating with a First-Class Honours degree in 2016, Bianca Raffaella was the first registered blind student to graduate from Kingston University with a degree in the Visual Arts. Since completing her 2023/4 residency at the Tracey Emin Artist Residency (TEAR), Raffaella now works from TKE Studios, where she uses gestural fragments and impasto techniques to capture motion and visual shifts on the canvas. In 2021, Raffaella's work was selected for the Royal Academy of Arts' Summer Exhibition, coordinated by Yinka Shonibare, followed by her solo exhibition, Hushed Impressions, at Orleans House Gallery in 2023. She was also awarded the NatWest Entrepreneurship Funding Prize in 2019 for her bespoke sensory fashion label. An advocate for accessibility in the arts, Raffaella has shared her insights as a speaker at the Goethe Institut's Beyond Seeing project and as a panellist at Tate Modern's Please Touch the Art talk. Most recently, she was selected by Dame Tracey Emin for Flowers Gallery's 2024 Artist of the Day series, presenting a one-day solo exhibition as part of the programme's 25th edition. Education 2013-16 BA, Kingston University London [The first registered blind student to graduate from Kingston University with a First-class degree in the visual arts.] Solo Exhibitions 2025 Faint Memories, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2024 Artist of the Day, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2023 Hushed Impressions, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Group Exhibitions 2024 TEARS: The Final Show, TKE Studios, Margate, UK Small is Beautiful: 42nd Edition, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK Artist of the Day: Group Show, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2023 TEARS, TKE Studios, Margate, UK 2022 Layers of Vision, Bush House, London, UK 2021 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK Breaking Ground, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Awards 2024 Artist of the Day, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK Three To Watch, Hotly tipped female talent of the British art scene, Harper's Bazaar Magazine UK 2023 Tracey Emin Artist Residency (TEAR) 2023-24, TKE Studios, Margate, UK 2022 Artist-in-residence 2022-23, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Commissioned by King's College London in collaboration with Shape Arts and AccessArt Gallery Representation Flowers Gallery (London New York Hong Kong) Public Collections Tracey Emin Foundation (Margate, UK) Statement about AOAP Submitted Artwork Four impressions from recent memories of Courchevel, in the Tarentaise Valley, France. You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.

Bianca Maria Raffaella Courcheval in a Snow Storm, 2025 Acrylic on paper Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Bianca Raffaella (b 1992, London) Working from memory and sensory cues rather than direct observation, Bianca Raffaella is a British artist and activist currently based in Margate. As a partially sighted artist, her ephemeral floral and figurative paintings draw viewers into her world by capturing fleeting moments suspended in persistent vision, where her sight is in constant motion, and images appear only briefly as faint shadows or flickers of light. Raffaella's ongoing series of textural flower paintings evoke the artist's experience of beauty in braille, which was how she first learned to read and write. Raffaella relies on touch in her painting process. Never losing contact with the canvas, she blends delicate hues of blue, beige, and dusty pink until they become an ethereal impression, cloudy details made with fingertips, brushstrokes or scrapes of a palette knife. Graduating with a First-Class Honours degree in 2016, Bianca Raffaella was the first registered blind student to graduate from Kingston University with a degree in the Visual Arts. Since completing her 2023/4 residency at the Tracey Emin Artist Residency (TEAR), Raffaella now works from TKE Studios, where she uses gestural fragments and impasto techniques to capture motion and visual shifts on the canvas. In 2021, Raffaella's work was selected for the Royal Academy of Arts' Summer Exhibition, coordinated by Yinka Shonibare, followed by her solo exhibition, Hushed Impressions, at Orleans House Gallery in 2023. She was also awarded the NatWest Entrepreneurship Funding Prize in 2019 for her bespoke sensory fashion label. An advocate for accessibility in the arts, Raffaella has shared her insights as a speaker at the Goethe Institut's Beyond Seeing project and as a panellist at Tate Modern's Please Touch the Art talk. Most recently, she was selected by Dame Tracey Emin for Flowers Gallery's 2024 Artist of the Day series, presenting a one-day solo exhibition as part of the programme's 25th edition. Education 2013-16 BA, Kingston University London [The first registered blind student to graduate from Kingston University with a First-class degree in the visual arts.] Solo Exhibitions 2025 Faint Memories, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2024 Artist of the Day, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2023 Hushed Impressions, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Group Exhibitions 2024 TEARS: The Final Show, TKE Studios, Margate, UK Small is Beautiful: 42nd Edition, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK Artist of the Day: Group Show, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2023 TEARS, TKE Studios, Margate, UK 2022 Layers of Vision, Bush House, London, UK 2021 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK Breaking Ground, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Awards 2024 Artist of the Day, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK Three To Watch, Hotly tipped female talent of the British art scene, Harper's Bazaar Magazine UK 2023 Tracey Emin Artist Residency (TEAR) 2023-24, TKE Studios, Margate, UK 2022 Artist-in-residence 2022-23, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Commissioned by King's College London in collaboration with Shape Arts and AccessArt Gallery Representation Flowers Gallery (London New York Hong Kong) Public Collections Tracey Emin Foundation (Margate, UK) Statement about AOAP Submitted Artwork Four impressions from recent memories of Courchevel, in the Tarentaise Valley, France. You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.  

Phoebe Boddy Just have another beer then, 2025 Oil pastel on paper Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Phoebe Boddy is a London-based emerging artist. Her abstract, figurative, expressionist paintings focus on the mundane, weaving exhilarating compositions that celebrate the everyday. Whether it is a painting of a fruit stand from the market or a bathtub scene, Boddy amplifies the beauty in everyday life through her energised brushstrokes, infused with bold outlines and vibrant colours while often adding a sprinkle of humour through witty text written on the canvas.   Education 2017 Fine Arts BA (Hons), Loughborough University   2014 UAL Level 3 Diploma Art & Design Foundation Studies   Solo Exhibitions 2024 Reverse Cowgirl, Nomad Salon, London, UK   Group Exhibitions 2024 A Living Room, Interrupted Art, The Fitzrovia Gallery, London, UK Art on a Postcard, International Women's Day Auction, London, UK   2023 Delphian Open Call 2023, Unit 1 Gallery Workshop, London, UK Papier, Delphian Gallery, France Art Collector's Home, The Nomad Salon, London, UK The Silo Collective, Group Show, Hampshire, UK Beyond Beck Road, Beck Road Open Studios, London, UK Women to Watch, Reem Gallery, London, UK May Collection, Amelia Maxwell, Online Show Kensington & Chelsea Art Week, London, UK   2022 The Auction Collective, 50 X £50, Online The Other Art Fair, The Truman Brewery, London, UK [RE]Configured, Mall Galleries, London, UK Fancy a Bite?, Studio West Gallery, Notting Hill, UK Kensington & Chelsea Art Week, London, UK Pie in the Sky, PALETTE, Protein Studios, London, UK Hive Open Studios, The Koppel Project, London, UK Aubaine Restaurant, London, UK Collection Two, Katherine Richards Art Gallery, Hove, UK   Awards 2021 Figurative Art Prize, Mall Galleries Kate Bryan Prize Nominee   2020 Directors Pick, SAATCHI ART   Statement about AOAP Submitted Artwork My current work delves into representations of women for the female gaze. 'Cowgirl' & 'Just Have Another Beer Then' features paintings of badass female figures empowered by embodying the traditional cowboy persona, exuding the tough, masculine energy long associated with Western Cowboy culture.   You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.

Selena Corsellis Obras de Santa Engrácia 1/3, 2024 Oil and pigments on gesso Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Corsellis' delicate paintings explore the interplay of light and shadow within interior spaces, capturing fleeting, existential moments in ambiguous, often desolate settings. These shifting movements of light and shadow she depicts mirror the fluid and uncertain nature of our own lives, drawing a connection between the external world and the internal sense of awe and contemplation it evokes. Through both intimate and expansive compositions, Corsellis' aim is to provide moments of contemplation, rumination and empirical insight. Education 2020-2024 BA Fine Art from Leeds University of Art Group Exhibitions 2024 Ones to Watch Exhibition at Sunny Bank Mills, Yorkshire, Leeds Within and Without, Liliya Gallery Putney, London 2023 Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, London Statement about AOAP Submitted Artwork The three paintings, titled Obras de Santa Engrácia, depict the stairwells of Lisbon's National Pantheon. Each work explores the interplay of light and shadow, guiding the viewer through passages that seem to have no clear beginning or end. This reflects the metaphorical essence of the title, symbolizing the perpetual, ongoing process of constructing the Santa Engrácia church-an endeavour that, in a way much like the paintings themselves, is never truly completed. You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.

Hae-jin Yoo Woman in the Bath 'b', 2025 Oil on paper Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Haejin Yoo is a contemporary artist whose work explores themes of identity, persona, and introspection. Working primarily with oil and acrylic paints, she incorporates mixed media such as textiles, carpentry, and spray paint to push the boundaries of traditional canvas art and create immersive, surrealistic expressions. Her celebrated Woman in the Bath series reflects on private thoughts and the fluid nature of identity, drawing inspiration from the intimate setting of the bathroom. Haejin's art has earned numerous accolades, including 2nd prize in the 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: RAYMAR Traditional Art Award, being named one of Saatchi Art's Rising Stars for 2024, and winning the First Prize Abstract Award at FIRA International Art Fair Barcelona (2022). After nearly eight years living and exhibiting in Germany, Haejin has returned to Sydney, Australia, where she continues to explore new mediums and themes, further expanding her artistic practice.   Education Self-taught   Solo Exhibitions 2021 Artland Online Solo Exhibition, represented by Azaro Artspaces   Group Exhibitions 2025 BFF Modern Portraits, 33 Contemporary Gallery, USA Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, USA Nanny Goat Gallery, Petaluma, CA, USA Daughters of Eve, Quirky Fox Gallery, New Zealand Gems, Quirky Fox Gallery, New Zealand 2024 Woman in the Bath VI exhibited during HUGFest 2024, Canvas 3.0 Gallery, Oculus, New York City, USA The Other Art Fair, London, UK Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Exhibition, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA 2023 The Other Art Fair, Los Angeles, USA The Other Art Fair, London, UK 2022 Impronte d'Arte, Bergamo, Italy (WINNER: Artist Expert Award, presented by Prof. Vittorio Sgarbi) Fira Internacional d'Art, Barcelona, Spain (WINNER: First Prize Abstract Award)   Awards 2024 2nd Prize, Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: RAYMAR Traditional Art Award Saatchi Art Rising Star, Saatchi Art HUG100 Artists to Watch, HUG Finalist, Boynes Artist Award: 10th Edition 2023 Merit Prize Award, Teravarna International Juried Art Competition   You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.

Bianca Maria Raffaella Courcheval in Mist, 2025 Acrylic on paper Signed on Verso 10 x 15cm (3¾ x 5¾ in.) About Bianca Raffaella (b 1992, London) Working from memory and sensory cues rather than direct observation, Bianca Raffaella is a British artist and activist currently based in Margate. As a partially sighted artist, her ephemeral floral and figurative paintings draw viewers into her world by capturing fleeting moments suspended in persistent vision, where her sight is in constant motion, and images appear only briefly as faint shadows or flickers of light. Raffaella's ongoing series of textural flower paintings evoke the artist's experience of beauty in braille, which was how she first learned to read and write. Raffaella relies on touch in her painting process. Never losing contact with the canvas, she blends delicate hues of blue, beige, and dusty pink until they become an ethereal impression, cloudy details made with fingertips, brushstrokes or scrapes of a palette knife. Graduating with a First-Class Honours degree in 2016, Bianca Raffaella was the first registered blind student to graduate from Kingston University with a degree in the Visual Arts. Since completing her 2023/4 residency at the Tracey Emin Artist Residency (TEAR), Raffaella now works from TKE Studios, where she uses gestural fragments and impasto techniques to capture motion and visual shifts on the canvas. In 2021, Raffaella's work was selected for the Royal Academy of Arts' Summer Exhibition, coordinated by Yinka Shonibare, followed by her solo exhibition, Hushed Impressions, at Orleans House Gallery in 2023. She was also awarded the NatWest Entrepreneurship Funding Prize in 2019 for her bespoke sensory fashion label. An advocate for accessibility in the arts, Raffaella has shared her insights as a speaker at the Goethe Institut's Beyond Seeing project and as a panellist at Tate Modern's Please Touch the Art talk. Most recently, she was selected by Dame Tracey Emin for Flowers Gallery's 2024 Artist of the Day series, presenting a one-day solo exhibition as part of the programme's 25th edition. Education 2013-16 BA, Kingston University London [The first registered blind student to graduate from Kingston University with a First-class degree in the visual arts.] Solo Exhibitions 2025 Faint Memories, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2024 Artist of the Day, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2023 Hushed Impressions, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Group Exhibitions 2024 TEARS: The Final Show, TKE Studios, Margate, UK Small is Beautiful: 42nd Edition, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK Artist of the Day: Group Show, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK 2023 TEARS, TKE Studios, Margate, UK 2022 Layers of Vision, Bush House, London, UK 2021 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK Breaking Ground, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Awards 2024 Artist of the Day, Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, UK Three To Watch, Hotly tipped female talent of the British art scene, Harper's Bazaar Magazine UK 2023 Tracey Emin Artist Residency (TEAR) 2023-24, TKE Studios, Margate, UK 2022 Artist-in-residence 2022-23, Orleans House Gallery, London, UK Commissioned by King's College London in collaboration with Shape Arts and AccessArt Gallery Representation Flowers Gallery (London New York Hong Kong) Public Collections Tracey Emin Foundation (Margate, UK) Statement about AOAP Submitted Artwork Four impressions from recent memories of Courchevel, in the Tarentaise Valley, France. You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any works. In doing so, you endanger our relationships with artists and directly jeopardise the charitable work we do.

COCTEAU JEAN: (1889-1963) French Poet, Playwright, Novelist, Artist, Filmmaker and Critic. A very private and tender letter with excellent content, also referring to Hitler, A.L.S., with his star, as was his occasional custom, by Cocteau, one page, 4to, n.p., n.d., to Jean Marais, in French. Cocteau sends this warm letter to his lover Jean Marais, during WWII time, stating in part `Mon Jeannot, Dire que j´ai la chance d´avoir des lettres qui s´envolent de ton clocher en zig zag et arrivent au Palais Royal. Rien au monde n´existe en dehors de tes nouvelles. Sache-le...´ (Translation: "My Jeannot, I have to say that I am lucky enough to have letters that fly from your bell tower in a zigzag and arrive at the Palais Royal. Nothing in the world exists apart from your news. You have to now it..") Further Cocteau refers to the Parisian apartment he shares with Jean Marais, saying `Hier je craignais de perdre notre appartement car le propriétaire me faisait un contrat inacceptable, hélas. Je l´ai vu cet après-midi et nous avons fini par nous mettre d´accord sur un bail... tu vois que, lorsqu´il s´agit de notre avenir, je ne chôme pas. J´ai un espoir sans bornes...´ (Translation: "Yesterday I was afraid of losing our apartment because the owner made me an unacceptable contract, unfortunately. I saw him this afternoon and we ended up agreeing on a lease... you see that, when it comes to our future, I am not idle. I have boundless hope...") Further again, and before concluding, Cocteau refers to Hitler using his capital initial "H", and stating `Tout ce qui arrive est atroce. On paye des fautes. Mais lui, H commet des fautes dans l´espace et dans le temps que seuls des gens comme nous devinent et sentent... Son apothéose ne peut qu´aller en queue de poisson. Je guette, je veille et je dors dans ta tour.´ (Translation: "Everything that is happening is atrocious. We are paying for mistakes. But him, H, commits mistakes in space and time that only people like us guess and feel... His apotheosis can only end in a damp squib. I watch, I look after and I sleep in your tower.") Very small minor age wear to edges, otherwise VG

MACDONALD JAMES RAMSAY: (1866-1937) British Prime Minister 1924, 1929-35. A good T.L.S., J. Ramsay MacDonald, three pages (separate leaves), 4to, Whitehall, 12th October 1931, to Ernest J. Titler , on the printed stationery of 10 Downing Street. MacDonald states, in part, ´This letter brings with it my heartfelt good wishes for your triumphant success on Tuesday the 27th October. To each and all of your constituents I would say this. When the national crisis arose there was a small group of Labour members, and outside Parliament a number of candidates and others, among whom you were one, who risked their careers and their capacity to be in public life of use to their fellows, because they felt that the course my colleagues and I were taking was right and that they must therefore support it. As Prime Minister I am concerned at this election to see that the nation gets the strong and stable Government which it needs; and I can honestly say that your return would add greatly to the strength and stability of the Government, for we shall have great need on the Government benches of men and women of different views and sympathies. It would not be desirable to give a Government such a mandate as we ask for unless it comprehended powerful groups of independent men of different outlook so that every decision may be the result of thorough examination. In addition, I am naturally anxious for the fate of you and the rest of the small band of candidates who are fighting with little organisation a battle of high principle. We cannot allow the movement to which I have given the great part of a lifetime to degenerate into a puppet controlled by a machine. I am appealing as head of the Government for a free hand to deal firmly and effectively with the many pressing questions which face the country.......We shall carry on together our old work for peace; we shall strive for international settlements which will put an end to impossible efforts to pay vast sums in War Debts and Reparations; we shal watch vigilantly the effect of the devalued currency on the standards of life of our people and shall not hesitate to take action regarding it.´. A letter of stirring political content. Together with a second T.L.S., J. Ramsay MacDonald, two pages, 4to, Whitehall, London, 13th November 1936, also to Ernest J. Titler, on the printed stationery of the Privy Council Office. MacDonald thanks his correspondent for having shown him their proposed resolutions on trade union policy and remarks ´You might look again at the first and the last. The first strikes me as being apt to be regarded by our Labour opponents as a bit of arm flinging and gesticulation. They would say, for instance, "Why ask your staff to join a Trade Union? Why not make trade union membership a condition of employment?" As you know, they are very anxious to make all their views compulsory! The last sentence advising employers to concede the right of any employee to join a union is rather weak.....The point about the fourth resolution is that compulsory arbitration has never emerged with added strength from any thorough investigation that has been made into its practical possibilities´. Also including a carbon typed copy of Titler´s trade union policy resolutions as referred to by MacDonald, two carbon typed copies of related letters, one to MacDonald in response to his letter of 13th November 1936 (´Resolution No.4 I have slightly altered but retained as I think it might lead to some useful discussion´), and a T.L.S. by C. E. Asquith, Secertary of the National Labour Committee, on the same subject, December 1936. A few very small file holes and paperclip rust stains to the upper left corners of some pages, generally about VG, 6

A collection of jewellery including damaged 9ct gold ring (2.4g), watches, silver fob watch, serpent bangle, pearl necklace, 18k rolled gold bracelet, diamanté earrings, vintage brooches including A & S, etc

A rolled gold ladies 1920/30's watch and two fobwatches. One silver the other gold plated.

A fine Great War D.S.M. group of four awarded to Able Seaman N. L. Rae, H.M. Submarine B11, Royal Navy, for his gallantry during the sinking of the Ottoman battleship Messudiyeh in the Sea of Marmora on 13 December 1914 - all the crew of the B11 were valiant, with her captain, Lieutenant N. D. Holbrook, being awarded the V.C.; her second in command, Lieutenant S. T. Winn, the D.S.O.; and the entire of the rest of the crew the D.S.M. Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R. (232229 N. L. Rae. A.B., H.M. Submarine. B.11.); 1914-15 Star (232229, N. L. Rae, A.B., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (232229 N. L. Rae. A.B. R.N.) good very fine (4) £3,000-£4,000 --- V.C. London Gazette 22 December 1914: Lieutenant Norman Douglas Holbrook, Royal Navy ‘For most conspicuous bravery on the 13th December 1914, when in command of the Submarine B.11, he entered the Dardanelles, and, notwithstanding the very difficult current, dived his vessel under five rows of mines and torpedoed the Turkish battleship Messudiyeh, which was guarding the mine-field. Lieutenant Holbrook succeeded in bringing the B.11 safely back, although assailed by gun-fire and torpedo boats, having been submerged on one occasion for nine hours.’ D.S.O. London Gazette 22 December 1914: Lieutenant Sydney Thornhill Winn ‘In respect of his services as second in command of Submarine B.11 which torpedoed the Turkish battleship Messudiyeh in the Dardanelles on the 13th December 1914.’ D.S.M. London Gazette 1 January 1915: Able Seaman Norman Lester Rae, O.N., 232229 (in a joint citation with Petty Officer William Charles Milsom, O.N., 182452; Petty Officer Thomas Henry Davey, O.N., 215464; Chief Engine Room Artificer, 2nd Class, John Harding, O.N., 270410; Engine Room Artificer, 1st Class, Anthony Douglas, O.N., 270773; Stoker Petty Officer Patrick McKenna, O.N., 284570; Leading Seaman Alfred Edmund Perry, O.N., 234677; Leading Seaman Wilfrid Charles Mortimer, O.N., 219476; Able Seaman George Read, O.N., 231010; Able Seaman Edward Buckle, O.N., 237869; Able Seaman Tom Blake, O.N., J.1383; Signalman Frederick George Foote, O.N., J.1862; Acting Leading Stoker John Henry Sowdeii, O.N., 308448; and Stoker, 1st Class, Stephen James Lovelady, O.N., K.2240). ‘For service in the Dardanelles in Submarine B.11 on the 13th December 1914.’ Norman Lester Rae was born in Basingstoke on 19 August 1888 and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Second Class on 15 September 1904. Advanced Able Seaman on 24 April 1908, he served during the Great War in the submarine B.11 under the command of Lieutenant N. D. Holbrook. Following the outbreak of the Great War, H.M. Submarine B.11, a rather primitive vessel launched on 21 February 1906, with a crew of two officer and 14 ratings, was redeployed from Malta to Tenedos, an island just south of the entrance to the Dardanelles, joining the fleet monitoring the entrance of the Dardanelles. When Britain formally declared war on Turkey on 5 November 1914 it was decided to probe the Straits from here, although they were known to be heavily defended by minefields and shore batteries, while fierce currents made them hazardous to navigate. On 13 December 1914 B.11 submerged a mile off Cape Helles at the western end of the Straits and, having dived under five rows of mines through uncharted currents, eventually reached Sari Sighlar Bay, south of Chanak on the Asian shore. Here she discovered the Turkish battleship Messudiyeh at anchor, which was carrying more than 700 men. firing a single torpedo from a distance of 750 metres, the torpedo hit the ship’s stern, causing her to capsize and sink, with the loss of 10 officers and 27 other ranks. Despite very heavy Turkish fire B.11 succeeded in returning safely to Tenedos; the return journey taking over eight hours, with any attempt to use the periscope resulting in heavy fire being brought to bear on her. For their great gallantry in attacking and sinking the Messudiyeh, all the crew of the B.11 were decorated; her captain, Lieutenant N. D. Holbrook was awarded the Victoria Cross; her second in command, Lieutenant S. T. Winn, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order; and all fourteen ratings (including Rae) were awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. They were also awarded £3,500 of prize money, with Holbrook receiving £600; Winn £480; the Petty Officers £240; and the seamen £120. For Rae and the other seamen this was the equivalent of almost three years’ pay. Rae served in various other submarines and shore based establishments for the rest of the War, and was shore demobilised on 27 March 1919. He subsequently emigrated to South Africa. Sold with a presentation pocket watch, by J. W. Benson, London, the outer silver case engraved ‘NLR’ on one side, and ‘Sunk by B11. “Messudiyeh” Dardanelles, Dec. 13. 1914’ on the other; and a hand-written letter written to the recipient from his former skipper, Commander Norman Holbrook, V.C., dated 12 December 1958.

A cased Ciro 1960's silver and marcasite ladies watch, stamped 925, with receipt for 1962, together with a small quantity of unmarked white metal jewellery , including bracelet, earrings, etc (parcel)

The fine Great War Q-ship operations D.S.C. group of three awarded to Engineer Lieutenant N. S. MacKinnon, Royal Naval Reserve, who was killed in action in the Cullist in the Irish Sea on 11 February 1918, having already been decorated and ‘mentioned’ for services in her against enemy submarines: at the time of his death he had received at least one more bravery recommendation Distinguished Service Cross, G.V.R., the reverse hallmarked London 1917 and privately engraved, ‘Eng. Lieut. Neil S. MacKinnon, 23rd Jan. 1918’; British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Eng. Lt. N. S. Mackinnon. R.N.R.) together with Memorial Plaque (Neil Shaw MacKinnon) nearly extremely fine (4) £3,000-£4,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, April 2004. D.S.C. London Gazette 22 February 1918: ‘For services in action with enemy submarines.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 29 August 1917. Neil Shaw MacKinnon, who was born at Leith, Edinburgh on 23 April 1877, was commissioned as a Temporary Engineer Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve in May 1917, the very same month in which the Q-ship Cullist was commissioned by Lieutenant-Commander S. H. Simpson, R.N., shortly to win a brace of D.S.O.s for his command of her in several lively encounters with enemy submarines. As it transpired, MacKinnon was to serve as his Engineer Lieutenant throughout this period, right up until his death in action on 11 February 1918, when the Cullist was torpedoed without warning and went down in two minutes. His mention in despatches was for services on the occasion of the sinking of an enemy submarine on 13 July 1917, the latter having been sighted on the surface at 11,000 yards range, from which distance it began shelling the Cullist. After firing 38 rounds without recording a hit, the enemy began to close the range to 5,000 yards and fired a further 30 rounds which started to straddle their target. At 1407 hours Cullist returned fire, her gunners getting the range after their second salvo and numerous hits were recorded on the enemy’s conning tower, gun and deck. Then an explosion was seen followed by bright red flames, and three minutes after engaging the submarine it was seen to go down by the bows leaving oil and debris on the surface - the latter included ‘a corpse dressed in blue dungarees, floating face upwards.’ But it was for actions fought by the Cullist on 20 August and 28 September 1917 that MacKinnon received his D.S.C. On the former occasion an enemy submarine was sighted on the surface and opened fire on the Cullist at 9,000 yards range. After 82 rounds had been fired by the submarine, just one of them scored with a hit on the water-line of the stokehold, the shell injuring both the firemen on watch and causing a large rush of water into the stokehold, which was overcome by plugging the hole and shoring it up. Several time-fused shrapnel projectiles were also fired at the Cullist but without effect. The submarine then closed the range to 4,500 yards at which time the Cullist returned fire and scored two hits in the area of the conning tower, upon which the submarine was seen to dive and contact was lost. During the second duel, which was fought on 28 September 1917, Simpson gave the order to open fire at 5,000 yards range - ‘thirteen rounds were fired of which eight were direct hits, causing him to settle down by the bowstill while about 30 feet of his stern was standing out of the water at an angle of about 30 degrees to the horizon. He remained in this position for about ten to fifteen seconds before disappearing at 12.43 hours.’ Soon afterwards Simpson spotted another enemy submarine and set off in pursuit, on this occasion to no avail. Nonetheless, he was able state in his official report that much credit was due to the Engine Room department, ‘who worked up to, and maintained a speed of 13 knots for four and a half hours, being 1.5 knots in excess of this ship’s previous full speed.’ And in official Admiralty correspondence dated 10 November 1917, the first suggestion that MacKinnon should be awarded a D.S.C is muted, the First Lord adding his approval five days later. Yet another brush with the enemy took place on 17 November 1917, when the Cullist was sighted by an enemy submarine which opened fire at 8,000 yards range. Within five minutes the enemy had the range and a shell glanced off the Cullist’s side, damaging one of three officers’ cabins before bursting on the water line. After disappearing in a bank of fog the submarine re-appeared and continued to shell the Cullist with such accuracy that for 50 minutes the decks and bridge were continually sprayed with shell splinters and drenched with water from near misses. In all, the enemy fired 92 rounds, while the Cullist returned fire from 4,500 yards, 14 rounds being fired at the submarine of which six were seen to be direct hits. The submarine, although badly damaged, was able to turn away, dive and escape. Once again, Simpson recommended his engineering officers, Mackinnon and a Sub. Lieutenant Wilson, their C.O.’s official report stating: ‘These officers are stationed in the Engine Room and Boiler Room during action and have always kept their department in a high state of efficiency and ready for any emergency, stimulating all ratings under their orders with their good example.’ On 11 February 1918, however, the Cullist’s luck ran out and she was torpedoed without warning in the Irish Sea and sank in two minutes. The enemy submarine then surfaced and asked for the Captain, but was told that he had been killed. The Germans picked up two men and after verbally abusing the remaining survivors, made off. Simpson, who had been wounded, was pulled into one of the rafts, and the survivors were subsequently rescued by a patrol trawler. Sadly, however, their gallant Engineer Lieutenant was not among their number, undoubtedly having gone down at his station in the Cullist. Aged 40, he was the son of Donald and Jessie MacKinnon of 1 Royston Terrace, Edinburgh and is commemorated on the Porstmouth Naval Memorial. Sold with comprehensive research.

The unique and poignant Great War M.C., D.C.M., M.M. group of seven awarded to Sub-Lieutenant C. B. Wheeler, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, attached Royal Naval Division, who was twice wounded Later a member of the Federation of Malaya State Volunteer Force, he died of wounds at Singapore in February 1942, while serving as a recently appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps - or was a victim of the shocking Japanese atrocities Military Cross, G.V.R.; Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (CZ-2224 P.O. C. B. Wheeler. Nelson Bn., R.N.V. R.); Military Medal, G.V.R. (CZ-2224 A.L.S. C. B. Wheeler. Nelson Bn., R.N.V.R.); 1914-15 Star (CZ-2224 C. B. Wheeler, A.B., R.N.V.R.); British War and Victory Medals (S. Lt. C. B. Wheeler. R.N.V.R.); Efficiency Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue, Malaya (Sgt. Colin B. Wheeler, M.C., D.C.M., M.M. F.M.S.V.F.), mounted court-style as worn, generally good very fine (7) £14,000-£18,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, September 2013. The combination of M.C., D.C.M., M.M. is unique to the Royal Naval Division. M.C. London Gazette 15 February 1919: ‘On 27 September 1918 he was in charge of the section of two Stokes guns and was following his Battalion when the Battalion was suddenly held up by hostile machine gun fire. Taking a Lewis gun he crawled forward and cleared the enemy post thus helping the Infantry to obtain their objective. On 30 September 1918 at the Canal de L’Escaut, he again did good work causing considerable casualties to the enemy with a Lewis gun. Throughout the operations he showed conspicuous gallantry and able leadership.’ D.C.M. London Gazette 17 April 1917: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He handled three trench mortars with marked ability, and greatly assisted in clearing up a difficult situation. He set a fine example throughout.’ M.M. London Gazette 26 March 1917. Colin Bain Wheeler was born on 6 July 1896, and enlisted in the Clyde Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as an Ordinary Seaman in November 1914. Posted to Nelson Battalion, Royal Naval Division in June 1915, he was embarked for the Dardanelles, but was wounded in Gallipoli on 13 July and admitted to hospital in Alexandria - a sojourn extended by a bout of scarlet fever. Rejoining his battalion at Mudros in January 1916, he was embarked for France in May, and was transferred to 189th Stokes Mortar Battery, R.N.D., in which capacity he won his M.M. as an Acting Leading Seaman. Douglas Jerrold’s history takes up the story: ‘Such was the situation half-an-hour after the attack, when Lt.-Colonel Monro, commanding the Hood Battalion, was wounded, and Lt.- Commander Asquith, who had gone forward on the heels of his old battalion in the slender disguise of staff learner studying the effects of the artillery barrage, took command. To his energy and enthusiasm the success of the 189th Brigade's operations on this occasion was largely due. Well before 8 a.m. on the 4th, Lt.-Commander Asquith had got the Hood Battalion back to their correct alignment, and although touch could not be gained with the Hawke Battalion (who had probably by now edged further to the left, assuming the attack to have failed on the right) the situation was no longer critical. Dawn saw us with a fair hold on all our objectives, but with an awkward gap in the first and second enemy lines, and a machine-gun post still obstructing the consolidation of the essential defensive flank. The history of the rest of the battle is soon told. Several attempts to subdue the two strong points and to close the gaps were made during the morning of the 4th, but without success. At 3.50 p.m., however, the enemy post on our left was rushed by the Nelson and Hawke after an effective bombardment from a Stokes gun, skilfully handled by Leading Seaman Wheeler, of the 189th L.T.M. Battery.’ Having then been advanced to Petty Officer and added the D.C.M. to his accolades for the above cited deeds, he was wounded on 24 April 1917 and evacuated home. Then in October of the same year, he joined an Officer Cadet Battalion in Ayrshire, from which he emerged as a newly commissioned Temporary Sub-Lieutenant in April 1918. Ordered back to France that August, when he joined Anson Battalion, Wheeler was detached for service in the 188th Light Trench Mortar Battery, R.N.D. in the following month, and won his third decoration for his good work with a Lewis gun a few days later - thereby winning the unique distinction of having won the M.C., D.C.M. and M.M. for services in the R.N.D. Demobilised in June 1919, he stated that he intended to take up employment as a tea planter and, true to his word, settled in Malaya. A long-served member of the Federated Malay States Volunteer Force, he was awarded the Efficiency Medal in June 1938 (The F.M.S. Government Gazette refers), but his subsequent part in the desperate struggle for Singapore in February 1942 appears to have been undertaken as a recently appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (London Gazette 31 March 1942 refers). By the latter date, however, he was dead, official records listing his demise as 14 February, the day before the surrender of the colony. Moreover, he is listed on the Singapore Civil Hospital Grave Memorial, a sure indication of a sorry end: ‘During the last hours of the battle of Singapore, wounded servicemen taken prisoner and civilians massacred by the Japanese were brought to the hospital in their hundreds. Many were already dead on arrival, many more succumbed later, and the number of fatalities was such that burial in a normal manner was impossible. Before the war an emergency water tank had been dug in the grounds of the hospital, and this was used as a grave. Some 300 civilians and 107 members of the Armed Forces of the Commonwealth were buried in this collective grave ... A bronze panel, affixed to the memorial over the original grave, bears the inscription, ‘Beneath this Cross lie 107 British soldiers and 300 civilians of many races, victims of man’s inhumanity to man, who perished in captivity in February 1942. The soldiers are commemorated by name at Kranji War Cemetery.’ The exact nature of Wheeler’s end at the hands of the Japanese will probably never be known, but events at nearby Alexandra Hospital are worthy of mention in the current context. Sinister Twilight, by Noel Barber, takes up the story: ‘While this was happening, other Japanese troops were forcing all the patients to get out of the wards. The men who could not move were bayoneted. In the broiling heat, two hundred patients - together with a few R.A.M.C. personnel - were paraded in the grounds. All the patients were desperately ill. Some could barely hobble. Many collapsed. It made no difference. Herding them into groups of four or five, the Japanese roped them together with their hands behind their backs. They were then marched to the old servants’ quarters behind the hospital - a building consisting of several small rooms, ranging in size from nine feet by nine to ten by twelve. Between fifty and seventy patients were jammed into each room. Wedged together, it was impossible for them to sit down and it took several minutes for some patients to get their arms above their heads and make a little more room in this modern version of the Black Hole of Calcutta. There they were left for the night. Water was promised but none arrived - though those nearest the open windows could watch the Japanese soldiers sitting down on the grass, eating tinned fruit. From time to ti...

The scarce Great War D.S.C. group of five awarded to Acting Flight Commander C. C. ‘Jumbo’ Carlisle, Royal Naval Air Service, late Merchant Navy, one of the more unusual characters of ‘The Spider Web’ Sea-plane Flight at Felixstowe Distinguished Service Cross, G.V.R., the reverse hallmarked London 1917; 1914-15 Star (Flt. S. Lt. C. C. Carlisle, R.N.A.S.); British War and Victory Medals (Flt. Cr. C. C. Carlisle. R.N.A.S.); Denmark, Medal for Heroic Deeds, silver, mounted as worn, good very fine (5) £1,400-£1,800 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Butterfield’s Auction, U.S.A., June 2000. D.S.C. London Gazette 1 May 1918: ‘For zeal and devotion to duty between 1 July and 31 December 1917.’ The original recommendation states: ‘This officer has served on this station [R.N.A.S. Felixstowe] since August 1915 and has been consistent in carrying out his varied duties in a thorough and capable manner. I consider his influence on this station to have been highly valuable to the Service and most deserving of recognition.’ Cyril Campbell Carlisle was born in Liverpool on 14 March 1880, and originally served in the Merchant Navy, having been apprenticed to Nicholson & McGill in February 1896. He was awarded the Norwegian Medal for Heroic Deeds in respect of the rescue of the crew of the barque Varuna in 1902 and he gained his 1st Mate’s Certificate in the following year. His subsequent Master’s Certificate was obtained at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in August 1906, but on joining the Royal Naval Air Service in May 1915, he listed his current employment as that of a manager of a petroleum company in West Africa. Having undertaken pilot training at R.N.A.S. Chingford - seemingly without success, one report stating ‘he will never improve as a pilot’ - Carlisle was posted to R.N.A.S. Felixstowe for duty as ‘senior watch keeper and motor boats’ in January 1916. Subsequently described as ‘an exceptional officer with great ability to command,’ he was advanced to Flight Lieutenant in October 1916 and given charge of ‘seaplane lighters and motor boats.’ And apart from his detachment to Houton Bay ‘in connection with the America Seaplane’ in April 1917, he appears to have remained likewise employed until the war’s end. Having been advanced to Acting Flight Commander in March 1918, he transferred to the Royal Air Force in the rank of Captain and served in 70 Wing and in France. Carlisle emigrated to Canada in the 1920s but died back in the U.K. at Brighton, Sussex, in July 1969. A much liked and unusual character, some of Cyril Carlisle’s antics are recounted in The Spider Web, The Romance of a Flying-Boat War Flight, by ‘P.I.X.’, published in 1919, an amusing account of R.N.A.S. Felixstowe during the war, but, as the following extracts might illustrate, ‘Jumbo’ had an important part to play: ‘C. C. Carlisle, the Old Man of the Sea, or Jumbo, as he was called, because of his appearance and methods on the football field, was an institution on the station. He was in charge of the working party which did all the pulley-hauley work, and of the piratical crews of the motor-boats who looked after the flying- boats when they were on the water of the harbour. He had all sorts of fascinating model sheerlegs and derricks for training his men, and on occasion headed the salvage crew or the wrecking gang. He was a merchant service officer who had spent thirteen years at sea, part of the time fetching oil from Patagonia, and it was rumoured that he had also fetched from that salubrious spot his picturesque language. Some weekend trippers to Felixstowe, standing outside the barbed wire enclosing the beach, after watching and hearing, with eyes popping out and ears flapping, the unconscious Jumbo handling a working party bringing In the Porte Baby, wrote an anonymous letter to the Commanding Officer complaining of the earache, and adding, “it was Sunday too." This effusion was signed " A Disgusted Visitor." It was quite evident that the writer had never been with our armies in Flanders.’ ‘The new year [1918] opened badly. On the 2nd, in a thirty-knot wind, Gordon took off the harbour in a new type boat. As he rose from the water a petrol pipe failed, and not having height to turn he landed her outside down wind. She touched the water at a rate of knots, her bottom split open, and she sank in shallow water. Before she sank Gordon and his crew were taken off by a motor-boat. The Old Man of the Sea organised a salvage party. Jumbo boiled about in the sheds setting alight his trusty henchmen, and collected an amazing assortment of wire cables, ropes, balks of timber, flares, anchors, and what else I know not. The station tug Grampus, the steam hissing from her safety-valve through the zeal of her fireman (for the usual unexciting job of the crew was to bring bread and beef from Shotley, and this was an adventure), took the O.M.O.T.S.'s pet, the flat- bottomed salvage barge, in tow. They took it out and anchored it to windward of the wreck, but nothing further could be done until low water, which was at nine o'clock. In the darkness of the night, in the shadow of the sheds, Jumbo collected his piratical crew and packed them into the Grampus. I asked to be taken along, and we all shoved out through the guardships into the open sea. We could not get near the barge owing to the shallow water, and Jumbo forsook us, climbing with five of his satellites into a small dinghy, which, perilously overloaded, bobbed away over the heavy sea into the darkness. A long wait. The tug was rolling and tossing in the steep waves. A drizzling rain was falling. There were no shore lights, and the night was pitch-black. And then there was a glare of light in the distance, Jumbo had lit one of the acetylene flares on the stern of the salvage barge. The glare increased, and presently a light came bobbing over the water towards the tug, - it was a lantern in the bow of the dinghy. I climbed across and was ferried to the scene of activity. It was a weird sight. Five hissing acetylene flares surrounded the wreck with a fierce glow. Intense darkness all around, and in the brilliant pool of light a section of tossing waves, the flying-boat with her lower wings showing on the surface of the water, and the oilskin-clad men working on her. The wind was dying down, and as the tide fell the force of the waves was broken by the shoals over which they had already passed and by the barge. Jumbo took a short wire rope, with a wire hawser attached midway between the two ends, and had it worked down from the bow beneath the flying-boat. The ends were made fast to the engine bearer-struts, the men tying the knots under water, as the tide was now rising. Other men had made and fitted a wire sling for each engine, and to these two lines were made fast and taken to the barge. The slack in the wire hawser and the two lines was hauled in, and as the incoming tide raised the barge the flying-boat was lifted clear of the bottom. As soon as the water was deep enough Jumbo had the anchor heaved up and two motor-boats took the barge in tow. The flying-boat, supported on the surface by its lower wings moving through the water, followed after. It was towed by the two lines attached to the engines, the wire bridle under the bow preventing it nose-diving. The Old Man of the Sea processioned into the harbour in triumph. First the Grampus, then the two motor-boats, then the barge, and finally the flying-boat....

The fine Second War Coastal Forces D.S.M. group of six awarded to Leading Seaman J. J. Phillips, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, who was decorated for his deeds as a Coxswain in a brilliant night action in the Channel in March 1943, when M.G.B. 333 accounted for two E-boats, one of them by ramming at high speed: such was the calibre of the bravery displayed that night that five members of 333’s crew were decorated and three more mentioned in despatches Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (DX.1349 J. Phillips. L. Sea.), impressed naming; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve L.S. & G.C., G.VI.R., 1st issue (1349 J. J. Phillips. A.B. R.N.V.R.) mounted court-style for display, extremely fine (6) £2,400-£2,800 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, March 2007. D.S.M. London Gazette 1 June 1943: ‘For skill and gallantry in action with enemy light forces.’ A brief account of the action for which Phillips was decorated appears in Dog Boats at War by Leonard C. Reynolds, O.B.E., D.S.C.: ‘On 28-29 March 1943, it was one of the customary defensive patrols that brought the opportunity for confrontation with the E-boats against which, night after night, the boats lay in wait ready to repel their attacks. Lt. D. G. Bradford. R.N.R., was leading the unit in his own 333, with 321 (Lt. P. L. Stobo, R.N.V.R.) in company. While lying ‘cut’ (i.e. stopped with engines not running to enable a listening watch for E-boat engines), he suddenly heard them, started up, intercepted their course and having sighted them, tracked a line of five moving slowly. Why so slow, he could not fathom. He was able to approach very close, pour a broadside into the last in line, and then take on the next ahead. Stobo in 321 had gone after the others, so Bradford decided to ram, and sheared off the last twenty feet of her hull, which broke away. He circled back and could find little trace of either E-boat, so chased off to find the first three. When he found them stopped in a group, he opened fire and they were away at full speed. A group of prisoners of war later admitted that their E-boat, S. 29, had been scuttled after action damage from British M.G.Bs’. Phillips’ C.O. that night, Lieutenant D. G. “Don” Bradford, R.N.R., would later command the 31st and 55th M.T.B. Flotillas, and ended the War as one of the most decorated officers in Light Coastal Forces, having won the D.S.O., three D.S.Cs and a brace of “mentions”. A colourful character by any standards, his pre-war career included service as ‘an Adjutant in the Bolivian Army during the Gran Chaco War and as an Ensign in a cavalry regiment of the International Brigade in Spain, and in both he had been wounded’. Perhaps it is not surprising, therefore, that Phillips would recall that his skipper had ‘a revolver stuck in his belt’ on the night of 28-29 March 1943, and that ‘around the bridge lay Mills bombs and cutlasses’. As Peter Scott would put it in his Battle of the Narrow Seas, ‘fighting was in his blood’. Joseph John Phillips, who joined the R.N.V.R. in Bristol in 1935, commenced his wartime career with an appointment in the cruiser H.M.S. Diomede, then employed on northern patrols. In early 1941, however, he volunteered for Light Coastal Forces, and joined M.L. 451 that March, in which motor launch he served for 12 months, operating out of Immingham, Lincolnshire, on air sea rescue patrols. Then in July 1942, he joined M.G.B. 333 as her coxswain, the commencement of an eventful operational commission under “Don” Bradford, but one that came to a halt when he was “busted” down to Able Seaman for being found drunk at sea - but not before winning his D.S.M. for the above related action off Smith’s Knoll. Phillips subsequently joined M.T.B. 702 at the end of 1943, as a Gunner on one of her 6-pounders, but had reclaimed his Coxswain’s post in the same boat by the war’s end. He received his L.S. & G.C. medal in 1945 and was demobbed in October of the same year. Sold with a photograph of Phillips and his two brothers, and a hand-written résumé of his career.

The extremely rare Second War B.E.M. and Bar group of four awarded to Fireman and Greaser A. Letch, Merchant Navy; originally decorated for his gallantry during an enemy aircraft attack off the Humber in February 1942, he added a Bar to his award for top-secret, blockade running Operation ‘Bridford’, a risky enterprise undertaken in a modified Motor Gun Boat to collect valuable steel and ball bearings from Sweden British Empire Medal (Civil), G.VI.R., 1st issue (Albert Letch) with Second Award Bar; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; War Medal 1939-45, mounted as worn, good very fine (4) £2,000-£3,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: J. Hoare Auctions, Canada, April 2000. Abbott & Tamplin state in British Gallantry Awards that just 12 Bars were awarded to the British Empire Medal in the Second World War. B.E.M. London Gazette 12 May 1942: ‘The ship was attacked by an aircraft with bombs and machine-guns. The Master’s defence organisation was very efficient. Under his orders the First Mate and Second Officer held their fire until the range was close and then shot so accurately that the aircraft crashed into the sea. She had dropped bombs which exploded close to the ship’s stem. Excellent work was done by the Second Engineer, who was on watch. He remained at his post and calmly carried out with distinction urgent measures to secure the safety of the ship. Fireman Letch stuck to his post in the stokehold and carried out his duties during and after the action in a cool, calm and collected manner, even though the stokehold plates were thrown about by the explosions. It was due to the general resourcefulness of the ship’s company that the vessel reached port under her own power.’ Bar to B.E.M. London Gazette 2 May 1944: ‘For gallantry in hazardous circumstances.’ Albert Letch was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire on 18 November 1921. Awarded the B.E.M. for his gallantry as a Fireman aboard the S.S. Helder, when she was bombed and strafed in the Humber on 5 February 1942, official records also reveal that he afterwards served in the Royal Mail’s steamship Highland Brigade; he was likewise employed when she was diverted to New York following a storm off Bermuda in March 1943. Letch subsequently volunteered for Operation ‘Bridford’, part of an ongoing top-secret programme devised by Commander Sir George Binney, D.S.O., R.N.V.R., to ferry supplies of ball bearings and special steels, as well as occasional ‘passengers’, from Sweden to the U.K. The story of ‘Bridford’ and its predecessor operations is recounted in On Hazardous Service, by A. Cecil Hampshire, and a fascinating story it makes, for as Binney himself concluded: ‘Each trip in the running of this closely guarded Axis blockade has, of course, involved the dangerous sea passage through the Skagerrak and Kattegat between the enemy-occupied countries of Norway and Denmark … The operations owed their success to a combination of careful planning, courage, bluff and grand seamanship and sometimes perhaps there was an element of good luck.’ Binney managed to get hold of five Motor Gun Boats (M.G.Bs) for Operation ‘Bridford’. The boats, built by Camper and Nicholson, were 117-feet long and had three diesel engines which could produce a cruising speed of about 20 knots. After some modification, they could take a 45-ton cargo, and they were armed with Oerlikon and Vickers machine-guns. Manned by Merchant Navy volunteers, such as Letch – and hence flying the Red Ensign, each boat also had an S.O.E.-appointed Chief Officer to oversee the security and defensive arrangements. Binney named his five modified boats Gay Corsair, Gay Viking, Hopewell, Master Standfast and Nonsuch, thereby adding to the Elizabethan atmosphere of the adventure on which they were engaged. And to add a final touch to that sense of adventure, he ensured that ‘in each Captain’s cabin there was a picture of Sir Francis Drake.’ As it transpired, Master Standfast was captured by the Germans on her very first mission in November 1943, but the remainder of Binney’s flotilla plied back and forth from Hull and Immingham to the small Swedish port of Lysekil until March 1944. For his own part Letch served as a greaser in (ex-M.G.B. 505) Nonsuch, under ‘the tall, slim and quiet-mannered’ Captain Herbert ‘Jacko’ Jackson. And the boat’s S.O.E.-appointed Chief Officer was Ted Ruffman, who, according to On Hazardous Service, ‘was an ex-Artillery lieutenant who had been invalided from the army after having had most of his face shot off at Tobruk.’ Letch may have served in other ships of the secretive flotilla, but we know for certain from official records that he joined Nonsuch for a run over to Sweden in February 1944, when ‘the boss’, George Binney, came along for the ride. Happily, it would seem, Nonsuch dodged the mines and German patrol boats, and returned to Immingham with a 40-ton cargo valued at 570,000 Swedish Kroner. He was among those subsequently selected for reward, in his case an extremely rare Bar to his B.E.M. Whether he remained in Nonsuch for her future role in S.O.E.’s Operation ‘Moonshine’ remains unknown. He died in Grimsby in November 1990. Sold with copied research.

Miscelleaneous games and toys, 1980's Including Nintendo, Game & Watch Snoopy Tennis handheld game, Mini Munchman Grandstand pocket arcade game, adjustable metal roller skates, Scalextic, vintage matchbox trucks etc used

Two Victorian and George V silver sovereign cases, one crested, the other engine turned, 30 and 34mm diam, both Birmingham, maker H B S, 1896 and Dennison Watch Case Co, 1911 One in good condition, the larger example lacking the plunger to open

A gentleman's late 1940's stainless steel Omega automatic wrist watch, with Arabic dial and subsidiary seconds, case diameter 33mm, on an associated flexible strap. Condition - poor to fair

A gentleman's early 1960's 18ct gold Omega Seamaster automatic wrist watch,, with baton numerals, movement c. 552, case diameter 34mm, on an associated leather strap. Condition - fair

A lady's 1960's 18ct gold manual wind bracelet watch, overall length 16.5cm, gross weight 37.1 grams. Condition - fair to good The watch ticks when wound and the hands adjust.

An Omega Automatic Wristwatch, circa 1950's, with cal. 342 'bumper' movement no. 11848760, 33mm diameter, no running, no strap, as found, together with a gold plated open face pocket watch, a small 14k gold lady's wristwatch with replacement metal strap and other vintage wristwatches etc., all spares / repairs (a lot)

A Graduated Watch Chain, stamped '9' and '.375', suspending a T-bar, length 40cmThe chain is in good condition with slight scuffing commensurate with wear and use. The T-bar and the clip fastenings are stamped with maker's mark 'J.G&S', '9' and '.375', each link is also stamped '9' and '.375'. Gross weight 44.4 grams.

No Reserve - Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control 140.8.93.S - Men's watch. Case: steel - strap: leather - automatic - service papers - last service: September 2024 - diameter: 37 mm - wrist size: 20 cm - sapphire crystal - ref: 140.8.93.S - date, power reserve indicator, display caseback - This lot will be auctioned without reserve price.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Vintage 18K. 8126 - Men's watch - approx. 1950's. Case: rose gold (18K.) - strap: leather - automatic - last service: June 2024 - diameter: 22 x 31 mm - wrist size: 17.5 cm - plexiglass - ref: 8126 - small seconds - total weight: 28.2 grams.

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 'Zenith' 16520 - Men's watch - approx. 1993. Case: steel - bracelet: steel - automatic - Rolex box - diameter: 40 mm - wrist size: 19.5 cm - sapphire crystal - ref: 16520 - serial: S------ - chronograph.