Chaucer Auctions, one of the United Kingdom’s auction leaders in autographs and collectables, will be putting nearly 300 lots up for bidding on 9 June. This sale, which contains autographs from notable heroes and prisoners of war, colour slides and various war memorabilia, promises exceptional pieces from history. Read on to discover some of the star objects for sale.
This autograph book, estimated at £8,000-10,000, contains the signatures and notes from heros who hailed from the bomber commands serving in the Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and volunteers from the USA. Raymond Harry Spalding, who was a schoolboy at the time, lived close to the bases at Mildenhall and Lakenheath in Suffolk and collected the autographs between March 1941 and November 1942 of crews stationed there.
Most crews have signed together on the same pages, adding their unique aircraft call signs and their ranks. With over 230 autographs, the book contains many DFC, AFC and MID medal holders. Unfortunately, over 80 of these individuals were killed and many were shot down and held as prisoners of war. Some of these soldiers left words of wisdom for young Raymond, while others added personal touches, including poems, drawings and proverbs.
Another highlight of the sale is the signed Port Pympane Flying Log Book, estimated at £1,000-1,500. Sir Phillip Sassoon collected about 190 signatures from his famous friends when he took them flying. Autographs include Clementine Churchill, Prince George Saxe Coburg Gotha, Anthony Eden, Lord Mountbatten (signed Dickie and Edwina), Adrian Boult, Glady Cooper, Prince Benz (killed in an air crash 1942), Samuel Hoare and Venitia Stanley. The log book also contains very rare signatures from WWII military heros, including that of P/O Timothy Wildblood, who failed to return from combat in 1940. Some of the autographs are still unidentified, which is sure to yield some interesting and valuable signatures. The album is housed in a professionally-made box, with the title on its spine.
This collection of eleven covers from the Historic Aviators series is sure to excite collectors. The covers are dedicated to Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell and have each been signed by members of the Supermarine design team who worked on the Spitfire, as well as the Schneider Trophy and other projects. The estimate for these covers is £800-1,000.
These 35mm colour slides of Aircraft Civil and Military subjects were taken mostly in the 1970s. The lot also includes 14 extra slides of paintings from the RAF Museum shop. All slides are held in an expensive briefcase in good condition, which could hold up to 400 slides.
This incredible file contains various collectables from Alexander Aldophus Dumphries Henshaw, MBE, who was a British air racer in the 1930s and a test pilot for Vickers Armstrong in WWII. The file contains highly personal letters, cards and assorted correspondence between Alex Henshaw and Desmond Penrose. These notes include rich detail about Henshaw’s career, as well as touching notes after his wife passed. Remarkably, the file also contains his 1938 Kings Cup Air Race Competitors arm band – the year he won the race.
Without a doubt, this auction will see incredible records of history pass under the hammer.
