Friday, November 20, 2009
Highest price paid for a Victoria Cross-Spink sets
world record
LONDON, UK --A Victoria Cross medal awarded
to Flight Lieutenant Bill Reid was bought by an anonymous
bidder at Spink,
for £348,000 at auction-setting the new world record for the
Highest
price paid for a Victoria Cross awarded
to a Briton.
Photo: The Victoria Cross (far left)
and other service medals sold at auction yesterday to a female
collector. Photograph: Spink (enlarge
photo)
Flt Lt Reid was honoured for his part
in a bombing raid over Germany in 1943. He flew his Lancaster
bomber 200 miles towards its target despite having been wounded
in two separate fighter attacks.
He also managed to get the plane back to the
UK after the attack despite the death of his navigator and
the fatal wounding of his wireless operator.
A citation announcing the honour said: 'Flight
Lieutenant Reid showed superb courage and leadership in penetrating
200 miles... to attack one of the most strongly defended targets
in Germany.'
Mark Quayle, the medal specialist for Spink,
said: "This was a fully justified price, reflective of a remarkable
act of gallantry."
Flt Lt Reid, who later joined the RAF's
617 Squadron – better known as the Dambusters – was shot down
in 1944 and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. (read
the full
story here)
Photo: Flight Lieutenant Bill Reid was
awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery on a bombing raid on
Germany in 1943
(enlarge
photo)
A married father of two, he died aged 79
in Crieff, Perthshire.
Eight years after his death, his family
decided to sell the VC. It was bought, with Flight Lieutenant
Reid's other medals, by a woman collector.
Collector Melissa John said she had bought
it in memory of her brother, Christopher who died last year
aged only 47. Miss John, from Wales, sobbed as she added:
'I collected medals with him. He always wanted a VC.'
The world record for a VC is £491,567 paid
in Sydney, Australia. (This record is for the Highest
price paid for a Victoria Cross awarded to a Briton).
The previous Guinness world record for the Highest
price paid for a Victoria Cross awarded
to a Briton was set in 2004 for a VC of £230,000.
The Victoria Cross, the highest honour for gallantry
in the armed forces, was first awarded by Queen Victoria in
1854.
Related world records:
Most
hours spent flying the F-16 -Air Force pilot sets world record
Fastest
mile in a bomb suit-world record set by Lt. Jonathan Kehoe
Most
expensive Christmas tree-world record set by Ginza Tanaka
Most
expensive Christmas bauble-Hallmark Jewellers sets world
record
Most
expensive bottle of beer-world record set by Lowebrau
Most
expensive letter from Titanic-world record set by Spink Smythe
Friday,
November 20, 2009
|