Our latest Militaria and Weapons auction includes a letter and a series of four postal cards written in 1943 to a Miss Jess MacLennan of Silverdale. They were all penned on behalf of Lieutenant J Southard, who, having been caught out by a German patrol “with only my pistol”, found himself in a German hospital.
He describes one bullet as having passed through the right side of his temple, exiting on the left. And then goes on to say, “the other bullet is a much more serious matter” as it entered his stomach and did “a certain amount of damage to the old entrails and my hip”.
The postal cards from 1943 and 1944 confirm his recovery and weight gain and that he’s awaiting repatriation. Leaving us to wonder 55 years later whether his repatriation brought him back to Silverdale and Miss MacLennan? If only we had that answer on a postcard too.
A further 221 lots will also go under the hammer in this specialist auction, the first to take place in our Exhibition Hall in the Damson Conference Room. Look out for highlights including a Zulu war period native bandoleer, a regimental horn for the 80th Regiment of Foot, Staffordshire Vol featuring scrimshaw, a Venezuelan dress sword 1900, a copy of Adolf Hitler’s 1937 wedding presentation edition of Mein Kampf, and two photograph albums of the British Military in India between 1930-1933.
You are very welcome to view on Friday (2-4pm), Saturday (10am-1pm) and on saleday (from 8.30am).
The auction starts at 12.30pm/1pm on Monday 19th March and is available for online bidding and telephone bids as well as in room and absentee. Please call 015395 66201 to arrange a telephone bid.