The Dickin Medal, the "animal VC", won by Commando a carrier pigeon for his efforts in WWII, made £8000 aganst an estimate fo £5000-7000, and has been covered extensively on page 8 of ATG No 1668, December 11.
Another emotive item in Spink's sale was the field marshal's baton presented to George Charles Bingham, third Earl of Lucan in 1887. Earlier he had commanded the charges of the Light and the Heavy Brigade at Balaklava.
This baton, one of about eight subjected to commerce during the last half century, was estimated at £50,000-60,000. The buyer chose anonymity and won it with a bid of £46,000. This was a good price despite the estimate; it can be accounted for by the fact that this particular baton did not come to the market fresh from the family.
