One of those items was the Airborne camouflage jacket, tam-o’-shanter and woollen gloves, shown right, which had been worn by one of the gang during the crime.
When it was offered July 10 at Bonhams Knowle (17.5% buyer’s premium) along with the sale catalogue, press cuttings and certificate of authenticity it was expected by to take as much as £1500.
“We had lots of press coverage,” said specialist Samantha Lilley,
“Some of it was good, but some bad and this, combined with July being a quiet time of year in the auction world, meant people were cautious.”
Nevertheless the lot did get away to a private bid of £750.
Train robber gets away with less
NEARLY 40 years after 15 men stole 120 mail bags containing £2.6m from the Royal Mail train as it passed through the Buckinghamshire countryside, the Great Train Robbery can still arouse controversy. In 1969 the police held an auction of items found in the robbers’ hideout on behalf of the banks who lost money.
