Latest News Articles by Tom Derbyshire
Snaring the Scharnhorst
08 April 2019Once the Tirpitz had been damaged by midget submarines (see main story this section), the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst was left to tackle British convoys to Russia alone. A trap was set by the Royal Navy in December 1943.
Saleroom glory for the 17th Lancers
08 April 2019If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the British were clearly impressed by the French lancer regiments they encountered during the Napoleonic Wars. The first British lancer regiments were established in 1816, just a year after Waterloo.
Eyewitness sketches of the Indian Mutiny emerge at Olympia Auctions
08 April 2019A 2m (6ft 7in) pen and ink drawing, estimated at £5000-7000 in Olympia Auctions on April 17 in west London, forms an intriguing eyewitness view of the final moments of the Indian Mutiny.
Penning an escape from the Battle of Arnhem
08 April 2019A 23-year-old paratrooper’s account of escaping the Battle of Arnhem sold for £3200, over 10 times the top estimate at 1818 Auctioneers (20% buyer’s premium inc VAT) of Milnthorpe, Cumbria, on March 5.
Tiny 'Protector’ palm pistol offered in Pennsylvania
08 April 2019This Chicago Firearms Co ‘The Protector’ palm pistol is estimated at $800-1200 in the Pook & Pook auction in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, on April 13.
The special ops striptease
08 April 2019When British Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents were parachuted into occupied Europe in the Second World War speed was vital. Not only did they have to jump from sub-radar altitudes as low as 400ft, hitting the ground within 10-15 seconds, but they also had to make a quick getaway.
Field marshal Chetwode’s baton consigned to Spink
08 April 2019To this day every Indian officer swears the ‘Chetwode motto’ as they commission into the army: The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time. The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.
Protecting the monarch since the days of Henry VIII
08 April 2019Until March 17, 1834, Her Majesty’s Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms was known as The Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners.
Vice Admiral's medals to be sold at Lawrences
08 April 2019Lawrences of Crewkerne’s militaria auction on May 16 will include an important set of awards and medals to Vice Admiral Sir HT Walwyn.
The clasps that make the difference for the NGSM
08 April 2019Factors dictating the pricing of Naval General Service Medals were clearly demonstrated in the March 6 sale at Bosleys (20% buyer’s premium) in Marlow. Ten NGSMs were offered as part of a large single-owner medal collection.
Bids for Albert Ball VC’s crash landing
08 April 2019Captain Albert Ball (1896-1917) is remembered as one of Britain’s greatest heroes of the skies. At the time of his death over Arras in the First World War, aged just 19, he had shot down at least 44 German planes and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
Private Trickett’s very lucky penny
08 April 2019A collection of First World War memorabilia relating to British army Private John Trickett – including an 1889 copper penny apparently bent when a bullet hit his breast pocket – brought a multi-estimate sum at Hansons (20% buyer’s premium) of Etwall on March 22.
Poignant guide for African American travellers that inspired Oscar winning film Green Book sells at auction
04 April 2019The name of the film Green Book which won the Oscar for best picture in February was based on a motoring handbook aimed to guide African-American travellers away from hazardous areas in the pre-civil rights US.
Lost Doctor Who Dalek episode exterminates auction estimate in south London
04 April 2019A Doctor Who archive of photographs and copies of plans from The Power of the Daleks – the completely missing third serial of the fourth season – has been sold at auction in south London.
Cottingley Fairies hoax photographs that famously fooled Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on offer at Dominic Winter auction
02 April 2019Original photographs from the Cottingley Fairies hoax which famously fooled Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are among a group of lots coming up at a Gloucestershire saleroom.
Pick of the week: Suffragette bravery medal heading to Australian museum is latest in a string of impressive auction results
01 April 2019A hunger strike ‘Fed By Force’ medal awarded to Suffragette Selina Martin (1882-1972) has been snapped up at auction by an Australian museum.
Marvel Comics collection including first appearance of the Fantastic Four makes five figures at auction
30 March 2019A collection of Marvel comics kept in a bank vault after coming a whisker away from being stolen has sold for £15,200 in total at a Staffordshire saleroom.
Annual Beatles memorabilia auction held by US saleroom Juliens' will be staged in Liverpool for the first time
28 March 2019Beatlemania is coming to Liverpool. Well, it never went away, but this fresh wave of interest in the ever-popular Fab Four is in the form of an annual auction held by an American saleroom that is now to be held on Merseyside.
March mega-sleepers: Nine items that sold for more than 100-times estimate at auction
27 March 2019The month of March produced an unusually large number of sleepers across the UK’s regional salerooms – from an Old Master drawing to a rare Marklin tinplate train.
Rugby memorabilia auction takes place at the home of the Welsh side in a Grand Slam year
25 March 2019Welsh rugby is on a high with their 12th Grand Slam secured on March 16 with a 25-7 win over Ireland – so it’s a perfect time for a special memorabilia auction to be held at the venue for Welsh home international games.