Medals
Medals have always been a big part of Charterhouse auctions. Richard Bromell, Director, was taken (or dragged) around medal & militaria fairs and auctions as a child by his father who had a huge passion for collecting.
Moving forward nearly 60 years, the interest and enthusiasm Richards’s father had has rubbed off onto Richard and he now heads up the medal, militaria, coins and stamp division at Charterhouse. Medals sold by Charterhouse are researched to make certain they bring their full potential.
Although medals can look the same, values can differ hugely depending on rank, regiment, campaign and citation. A good example of this could be a pair of WWI medals. A pair awarded to a Private who served with The Royal Engineers could sell for under £100, but a pair which look identical, but awarded to an Australian Gallipoli casualty could sell for over £2,000. We often sell medals straight from the family, and the highest price paid for a medal group at Charterhouse was sold for the son of the recipient.
The medals sold were awarded to Ft Lt Richard Trevor-Roper. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in The Dambusters Raid as Guy Gibson’s rear gunner in the lead Lancaster. The medal group sold for an astonishing £148,000 to a collector. If you have a medal or group of medals, contact Richard Bromell at our salerooms 01935 812277 or send him images to info@charterhouse-auction.com and Richard will get back to you with a valuation.
All of our auctions use live internet bidding platforms to ensure that every lot, whether it is worth £20 or £500,000, reaches the widest possible market and sells for the best price possible. In the run-up to an auction, we receive 100s of emails requesting further information for lots in the sale. Attached to these email replies, we regularly send well over 1,000 digital images, such is the huge interest generated in our auctions.
For further information about medals at Charterhouse, please contact Richard Bromell ASFAV at rb@charterhouse-auction.com, or at the office on 01935 812277.
WWII Maritime Medals Come to Charterhouse
The medals awarded to Chief Petty Officer Frederick Guy Veal are included in the Charterhouse two day specialist auction of coins, medals, stamps toys and collector’s items at their Sherborne Salerooms on the 20th & 21st August.
“Chief Petty Officer Veal was a West Country lad with family from Bridgwater and Davenport who lad a long career in the Royal Navy and even survived the sinking of his ship in 1941.” Commented Richard Bromell.
The group of eight medals awarded Chief Petty Officer F G Veal chart his long service in the Royal Navy both before and during the Second World War.
He was serving on the battleship HMS Prince of Wales in the Far East on 10th December 1941, just two days after Pearl Harbour, when it came under attack from Japanese bombers and torpedo planes. Having been torpedoed and hit by a 1,100 lb bomb the order was given to abandon ship was given at 13.15 and HMS Prince of Wales sank just 5 minutes later with the loss of 327 crew from a compliment of 1,612.
Accompanying the medal group is a framed montage of the ten ships Veal served on and a telegram addressed to CPO Veal’s wife, sent 5 days after the sinking of HMS Prince of Wales, letting her know her husband had survived the sinking which would no doubt have been a huge relief after days of not knowing whether he survived or not.
Richard Bromell and the team at Charterhouse, The Long Street Salerooms, Sherborne are available for valuations on single items, collections and complete house contents on 01935 812277 or via rb@charterhouse-auction.com
The medals awarded to Chief Petty Officer Frederick Guy Veal in the Charterhouse two day auction 20th & 21st August £250-350
