A significant collection of World War II secret operations medals, including items from Popski's Private Army and the X-Craft midget submarine missions, will be auctioned on September 16 by Stanley Gibbons Baldwin's. The sale reflects growing public interest in clandestine military history.
Rare medals from covert units
Among the most prized lots is the Popski's Private Army Medal Group awarded to Sergeant John Beautyman, a jeep-mounted desert saboteur. His Military Medal was personally recommended by Major Vladimir "Popski" Peniakoff after an ambush behind enemy lines. The group is expected to fetch £10-15k or more.
Mark Smith, medals and militaria specialist at Stanley Gibbons Baldwin and medals expert on BBC's Antiques Roadshow, said: "This auction is so extraordinary because we cover 250-odd years worth of military history, from the 1790s to the 1950s."
Midget submarine heroics
Another highlight is the X-Craft Midget Submarine Group awarded to Lieutenant Commander Joe Brooks, who served on secret midget sub X9 during Operation Source - the raid to sink the German battleship Tirpitz - and later dived alongside "Buster" Crabb. The group is expected to fetch between £8 to £10k.
Brooks later crewed midget submarine X24. In Operation Guidance, explosives were placed under a ship in Bergen Harbour - accidentally an ammunition ship, which destroyed the whole harbour when it blew up. For this he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, but his son said he never wore it because he felt it wasn't worth the 50 local men shot in retaliation by German occupiers.
Other historic lots
The auction also includes a rare gold medal and presentation sword belonging to Lt Col Colin Campbell, wounded at Waterloo in 1815. The medals are expected to fetch over £20k and the sword £6-8k. A Crimea Medal awarded to Private Frederick Melrose, killed at the Charge of the Light Brigade, is also offered.
Smith said: "Medals are time machines. You hold on to one and you're there. You're in that valley with them." He added: "War is a dreadful thing, and that medal represents something awful. And if medals can do anything, and the stories of people who have fought can do anything, it should be to ban war forever."
The Stanley Gibbons Baldwin's Clandestine Operations Auction takes place live from London and online on September 16 at 10.30am.
