'Antiques Roadshow' guest needs a 'stiff cup of coffee' after hearing the value for his army medals
"Antiques Roadshow" has seen a number of items linked to wars that have even made owners emotional with the stories behind them. But sometimes, some of these also manage to take an expert's breath away, while guests are left stunned as usual. Such scenes were witnessed when a couple walked in with a set of nine British military and royal medals, including one of the most important and highest honors in the country’s history, the Victoria Cross.
“This is a unique moment on Antiques Roadshow,” expert Mark Smith said, before adding, “In all the years I’ve been on the roadshow, we have never had a Victoria Cross. The highest award for gallantry this country has.” Along with the medals was the picture of a British Army officer, who turned out to be the woman’s grandfather. Her husband wasn’t fortunate enough to meet the man, who had passed away when his granddaughter was only five.
“I have very vague memories because I actually was only coming up for my fifth birthday when he passed away. I’m very proud of him, obviously, with what he achieved,” the woman said. The Victoria Cross was awarded to the late armyman, Sergeant James Ockendon, for his incredible display of bravery during the Battle of Passchendaele in World War I. Sergeant Ockendon not only saved his comrades, but he also forced the enemy to surrender.
“Noticing the right platoon held up by an enemy machine gun, which was causing many casualties, he, with absolute disregard for his personal safety, immediately rushed the gun, killed two of the gunners, and followed and killed the third, who was making his escape across No Man’s Land,” the expert read from the citation.
He went on to narrate, "He then led a party to an attack on a trench. His party was heavily fired on as it advanced. Sergeant Ockendon dashed ahead and called upon the garrison to surrender. They, however, continued to fire, and with great boldness, Sergeant Ockendon then opened fire himself. Having killed four of the enemy, he forced the remaining 16 to surrender. During the remainder of the day, Sergeant Ockendon displayed the greatest gallantry.”
The expert revealed that the sergeant was also at Gallipoli on the very first day of the attack on the beach. The guests revealed that he had suffered a bullet wound to the head at the time. He was gassed, however, not long before the war ended, but joined up with the Home Guard during World War II. They were all great stories, but it was now time for the medals’ appraisal.
Queen Victoria never wanted the Cross to be worth a lot of money, so she instructed that bronze be used. However, the expert said that it had significant value. He appraised the set of medals at £250,000 ($332,039) to £300,000 ($398,446). The man said that he needed a strong cup of coffee to process what he had just heard, before confirming that he was going to return the medals to a bank safe.
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