Rare South Africa 1879 Casualty Medal awarded to Trooper Francis ‘Louis’ Secretan. Dreweatts London / Baldwin’s image.
LONDON – Last year three major players in the UK fine art and collectibles industry (Apex, Baldwin’s and Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions) combined to create the UK’s newest “top 5” generalist auctioneer under the banner of Noble Investments (UK) PLC. This year will see Baldwin’s and Dreweatts holding their first joint auction of Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria on June 5 at Dreweatts London, 24 Maddox Street. LiveAuctioneers will provide the Internet live-bidding services for the sale.
Noble Investments (UK) PLC Managing Director, Ian Goldbart, commented: “The collective efforts of, and expertise within Baldwin’s and Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions, will enable us to provide a much broader presence in this fascinating market sector. We are delighted to be holding this inaugural joint auction and look forward to offering our vendors and buyers an enlarged platform through which to buy and sell a much broader range of collectibles.”
This first auction will contain 217 lots, including the highlight of the sale, lot 6, the superb and extremely rare WWII Pathfinder’s CGM & DFM “Group of 5” awarded to Warrant Officer S J H Andrew, No 35 Squadron, No 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Warrant Officer Solomon Joseph Harold Andrew was the veteran of a staggering 89 operational sorties and 315 hours of operational flying over France and Germany between November 1943 and April 1945. He was awarded the CGM and DFM for his role as an Air Gunner “of outstanding ability,” and considered to have skill “second to none” in the Halifax and Lancaster bombers of No. 8 Group — one of only 11 suchgallantry combinations awarded, comprising: Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (Flying), G VI R (1715306 F/Sgt. S. J. H. Andrew. R.A.F.), Distinguished FlyingMedal, G VI R (1715306. F/Sgt. S. J. H. Andrew. R.A.F.), 1939-1945 Star, Air Crew Europe Star with copy “France and Germany” clasp, War Medal 1939-45; the first two officially engraved, the remainder unnamed as issued, group court-mounted on board, with reverse pin for wear. This is an extremely rare and desirable group and is estimated to sell for £12,000 – £15,000.
In addition, lot 37, a Herbert Morton Stoops (1888-1948) oil on canvas, titled Strange Meeting, Argonne 1918 is included in the sale. The picture portrays a British WWI soldier encountering a group of soldiers in a trench, only to discover they are skeletons. Previously exhibited at the King Street Galleries in 1991 as part of a third exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, presented by David Cohen Fine Art, this extraordinary painting is estimated at £2000 – £3000. The painting was used as the image on the cover of the exhibition catalogue as a representation of one of the most fertile periods in the history of British art. In the introduction to the catalog, Jenny Spencer-Smith (Head of the Department of Fine and Decorative Art – The National Army Museum, London) describes the painting as inspiring “disturbing emotions.”
Also included in the sale are a number of fascinating items including, lot 37, a rare and emotive South Africa 1879 Casualty Medal, estimated at £10,000 – £12,000; lot 153, a pair of silver-mounted flintlock pistols for presentation to a potentate, estimated at £2,000 – £3,000; and lot 175, An 1878 pattern Home Service officer’s blue cloth helmet belonging to Henry Singleton Pennel VC Derbyshire & Sherwood Foresters (1874 – 1907), estimated at £1,200 – £1,500.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
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ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Rare South Africa 1879 Casualty Medal awarded to Trooper Francis ‘Louis’ Secretan. Dreweatts London / Baldwin’s image. Superb and rare World War II Pathfinder’s CGM & DFM group of five awarded to Warrant Officer Solomon Joseph Harold Andrew, No.35 Squadron, No.8 (Pathfinder Force) Group, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Dreweatts London / Baldwin’s image. Naval General Service Medal, 1793-1840, single clasp. Dreweatts London / Baldwin’s image. Waterloo Medal, 1815, with replacement steel clip and ring suspension (Lieut. A. E. Glynne, 1st Batt. 40th Reg. Foot). Dreweatts London / Baldwin’s image. Pair of silver-mounted flintlock pistols for presentation to a potentate. Dreweatts London / Baldwin’s image. Sir George Prevost 1st Baronet (19 May 1767 – 5 Jan. 1816), fine Georgian officer’s saber by Hawkes Mosely & Co., Piccadilly, London. Dreweatts London / Baldwin’s image. Henry Singleton Pennel VC Derbyshire & Sherwood Foresters (1874 – 1907) 1878 Pattern Home Service officer’s blue cloth helmet. Dreweatts London / Baldwin’s image. Herbert Morton Stoops (American, 1887-1948) ‘Strange Meeting,’ Argonne 1918, oil on canvas. Dreweatts London / Baldwin’s image.
