Published 12:23 IST, November 30th 2019
Two bravery medals awarded to First World War hero sold at auction for £235,000
At a recent auction in Holborn, Central London two bravery medals awarded to a First World War hero was reportedly sold to an anonymous buyer for £235,000.
At a recent auction in Holborn, Central London two bravery medals awarded to a First World War hero was reportedly sold to an anonymous buyer for £235,000. According to an international media report, Lance-Sergeant Arthur Evans was awarded the Victora Cross after swimming across a deep river in northern France and crawling up behind the fortified German position. He single-handedly also shot the sentry and another soldier and made four people surrender, further, enabling a wounded British officer to evacuate. This earned him the highest honour for gallantry.
Lance-Sergeant Arthur Evans also received the Distinguished Conduct Medal for another incident in which he stormed another machine-gun post and killed 10 Germans and took one prisoner who provided valuable information. He twice took out enemy machine-gun posts and his bravery medals were sold reportedly to his relatives, fetching a hammer price of £190,000 which later totalled to £235,000 with fees. Marcus Budgen, of auctioneers Spink & Son, told an international media outlet, that the auction house was thrilled that an outstanding medal group achieved an outstanding price that reflects Arthur Evan's brave actions.
Photos of allied soldiers displayed at checkpoint charlie to be auctioned
On the other hand in Germany photos of allied soldiers installed at Checkpoint Charlie, a crossing between East and West Berlin, are reportedly being sold off by a German auction house in the coming week. According to an international media outlet the giant photos were taken by photographer Frank Thiel back in 1994. The checkpoint was where the soldiers from rival sides during the Cold War period would have stood and the place where the US and Soviet tanks faced off in 1961.
Stefan Koerner, art expert at the Grisebach auction house told an international media outlet that the auction comes on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Along with the Checkpoint Charlie photo, 12 other works including images of Russian soldiers still wearing Soviet uniforms are also being auctioned with a starting price of $100,000. Koerner further added that the images were iconic and could be popular with collectors or museums.
Updated 12:40 IST, November 30th 2019