An important group of Second World War RAF medals awarded to a member of the “Guinea Pig Club” are expected to sell for £5,000-6,000 in the Militaria and Ethnographica Sale at Tennants Auctioneers on 16th December (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). The lot includes the Distinguished Flying Medal, the 1939-45 Star, Air Crew Europe Star, Defence and War Medals, along with a small archive of related material such as Benbow’s flight log book, Guinea Pig Club badges and ephemera.
The medals were awarded to Flight Sergeant (Air Gunner) James ‘Jimmy’ Benbow, who became a member of the Guinea Pig Club – a group of wartime airmen who received pioneering treatment for burns – after he was the sole survivor when his plane crashed on landing following a bombing raid over Berlin. Having suffered serious burns, Benbow was taken to Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead and was placed under the care of pioneering plastic surgeon Sir Archibald McIndoe. Here, experimental treatments such as skin grafting revolutionised the care of burns patients. However, McIndoe didn’t just try and restore the men’s physical appearance, he encouraged them to return to normal social life and regain confidence, revolutionary in reconstructive medicine at the time.
Many of his patients jokingly referred to themselves as ‘guinea pigs’, which led to the establishment of the Guinea Pig Club, a powerful support network and social club for the 649 men who were recipients of the experimental treatment at the hospital.
The Militaria and Ethnographica Sale offers a wealth of fascinating historical artefacts, varying from a rare Women’s Suffrage Movement Ceramic Match Holder in the form of three cackling geese (estimate: £300-500), to an Early 17th Century Hounslow Rapier, made circa 1629-40 by Clemens Meigenn, one of the cutlers at the Hounslow sword factory who had been recruited by King Charles I from Solingen in Germany, a centre of excellence for blade making (estimate: £500-600). Other early lots in the sale are an English Civil War Three Barred Pot Helmet, and an English Civil War Harquebussier’s Cuirass or iron breastplate, both on offer with estimates of £1,000-1,500. A good quality Copy of a 15th Century Gothic Suit of Armour by master Armourer Peter Leicht, who made many reproductions for Leeds Castle and the film Excalibur is offered with an estimate of £2,000-3,000).
Amongst a strong section of antique firearms and pistols is a Pair of Early 19th Century Percussion Duelling Pistols by Osborn & Gunby, a well-known Birmingham maker (estimate: £2,500-3,500). The pistols are sold with a letter to The Right Honourable Lord Middleton of Birdsall House from the York gunsmiths Thomas Horsley & Son discussing the pistols’ restoration. Further interesting lots include an early 19th Century 14 Bore Side By Side Double Barrell Percussion Sporting Gun by John Manton of London (estimate: £1,000-1,500), and an American William W Marston Three-Barrel .32 Calibre Rimfire Derringer (estimate: £900-1,200).
The sale will also offer numerous cap and headdress badges, many of which hail from a Private Collection, with notable lots including a Pre-1947 Pouch Badge to the Baluchistan Police (estimate: £120-180), and a rare Sind Rifle Corps Officer’s Helmet Place dating to circa 1879-1917 (estimate: £200-300). A further Private Collection of Javanese Kris or asymmetric daggers is also offered in the sale.
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