Dambusters items fetch nearly £25,000 at auction

Gildings Auctioneers A framed picture of Guy Gibson with a pair of his cloth wings inset. The picture has been placed inside the cockpit of a Lancaster bomberGildings Auctioneers
One of the items in the collection includes Guy Gibson's cloth wings

A large collection of memorabilia commemorating the man who led the famous Dambusters raid has been sold at auction.

The sale of 54 lots, including items that belonged to Wing Cdr Guy Gibson, fetched more then twice the expected price at the auction on Tuesday.

The items, which had been on display at the RAF Scampton Heritage Centre in Lincolnshire and had been expected to go for about £10,000, included part of Gibson's uniform and his logbook.

But Mark Gilding, director of Gildings Auctioneers, said they fetched £24,000 after attracting "worldwide interest".

"The items were all estimated to go for about £10,000, so I'm really amazed at the final sale, but it was a fantastic auction and a great way to start the year," said Mr Gilding, of the auction house based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire.

"The reason the items went for so much was because they were a rarity and presented in their entirety.

"These things are unlikely to be on the market again anytime soon, so buyers know they have to jump at the chance as they will go quickly."

It is not known who bought the collection.

Gildings Auctioneers A cartoon illustration of an oversized Wing Cdr Guy Gibson in uniform dropping a bouncing bomb from atop a Lancaster bomberGildings Auctioneers
The items were previously on display at the RAF Scampton Heritage Centre in Lincolnshire

The items were collected by Derrick Warren, a press photographer based in Coventry, who died aged 81 in 2022.

As well as a pair of cloth wings from Gibson's uniform, the collection featured a facsimile copy of his logbook, which included an autograph by Arthur "Bomber" Harris, who led RAF Bomber Command during World War Two.

There was also a childhood letter addressed to "Dear Granny", along with a photograph of a Lancaster bomber that was signed by Barnes Wallis, the engineer who designed the "bouncing bomb".

Books about Gibson were also part of the collection, as was a set of oil paintings by Gibson's sister, Joan Stiles.

During the war, Gibson commanded 617 Squadron, which was a force made up of Lancaster bombers formed at RAF Scampton to attack dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley.

Gibson, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his part in the operation, died when his plane crashed on its way back from a mission in Germany a year later.

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