War hero's Victoria Cross sells for THIS much at auction
A VICTORIA Cross won by a naval hero, who allowed his ship to be torpedoed so he could lure a German U-boat close enough to sink it, sold for a world record £840,000 yesterday.
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Vice-Admiral Gordon Campbell’s decoration, the highest award for valour, stormed past its estimate of £300,000 to go for a hammer price of £700,000.
With fees added, the total price paid was £840,000. The previous auction record for a VC stood at £678,000.
Vice-Admiral Campbell earned the medal in the First World War for his incredible ruse that saw him steer his ship, HMS Farnborough, into an enemy torpedo.
The German U-boat captain observed the scene through his periscope and steered the submarine to within 30ft of the ship to finish it off.
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These medals have enormous historic value for Britain, as well as personal value to me and my family
At that moment, Vice-Admiral Campbell gave the order for his crew to open up the ship’s hidden guns, firing 45 shells at point black range.
He received the Victoria Cross for his courage on February 17, 1917.
Vice-Admiral Campbell successfully used the same tactic twice more to sink two further German submarines later in the war.
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First World War in colour
Tue, July 29, 2014The devastating events of the First World War were captured in myriad photographs on all sides of the front. Since then, thousands of books of black-and-white photographs of the war have been published as all nations endeavour to comprehend the scale and the carnage of the “greatest catastrophe of the 20th century”. Far less familiar are the rare colour images of the First World War, taken at the time by a small group of photographers pioneering recently developed autochrome technology. To mark the centenary of the outbreak of war, TASCHEN has produced this groundbreaking volume bringing together all of these remarkable, fully hued pictures of the „war to end war“. Assembled from archives in Europe, the United States and Australia.
French warplane, Caudron G3, 1914. The First World War was the first time air warfare played a role in combat. Together the British and the French had at their disposal about the same number of airplanes as the Germans. Aerial reconnaissance by the Royal Flying Corps contributed considerably to the stopping of the German advance on the Marne
King George V decreed Gordon Campbell should have a second VC but he declined it. He did, however, receive the Distinguished Service Order three times during the war.
Vice-Admiral Campbell’s medals were bought by his great-nephew Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza.
The Baron said he intended to offer the medals to a museum for display.
“These medals have enormous historic value for Britain, as well as personal value to me and my family,” he said.
