Arms, Armour & Militaria

A significant amendment means that the new law governing the sale of bladed items will not impact buyers of antique weapons as once feared.

The death of John Hayward on May 12 has robbed the world of medals and medal collecting of its most colourful personality.

Painted by Lt Gen Henry Hope Crealock (1831-91), this 6ft 8in (2m) wide pen and ink drawing is an eyewitness account of The Action of Bareilly – the battle of the last stronghold of Indian independence in 1858.

Codes are there to be broken, as the Second World War British team at Bletchley Park proved by cracking the German Enigma machines.

Intricate representation labelled as a Royal Navy vessel has French prisoner-of-war origin.

A Russian battle sword is on offer at Morphy Auctions in the June 12 sale in Denver, Pennsylvania, estimated at $50,000-100,000.

A classic SAS beige beret from the Second World War has sold for what is believed to be a record-breaking £17,500 hammer price.

A flying log book belonging to one of the female pilots of the Air Training Auxiliary (ATA) who became famous for ferrying planes in the Second World War has been sold at Kent saleroom C&T.

In the latest of our occasional series of collector interviews, we talk to entrepreneur Algy Cluff, a former army officer and oil and mining business supremo, about his collecting tastes

The inscription London on the barrels of this pair of 19th century, silver-mounted flintlock pistols is entirely spurious.

Estimated at just £50-80, an Alice Davis Hitchcock medallion sold for £3000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at a Spink auction in London on April 10.

A late 19th century gold bone-handled Arab dagger was hammered down at £4100 at the inaugural sale of Knightsbridge auction house Kings Russell (22% buyer’s premium).

The largest battleships ever constructed in Germany posed a huge threat to the Allies. A rare medal group sold in London tells the remarkable story of how one of them was disabled.

Once 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.

If 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.