A young gentleman had contacted us to come into the office this week and brought along some medals from his family for valuation, as Boningtons are well known for achieving top prices for rare medals.

He arrived with a box of medals and ephemera from World War II with some serious history to them, and an airman’s whole military career plotted out in the numerous pieces of this time capsule from the 1940`s.

A brief look revealed a cased D.F.C. and a crest of his squadron namely 617 squadron!!!!

The most famed bomber squadron of World War II otherwise called the “Dambusters”.

This immediately brings to mind the Bouncing bombs of Barnes Wallis, the Mohne dam, the sinking of the Tirpitz and Bomber Harris and Guy Gibson.

The gentleman was happy to leave this important collection with us for further research to assess its merits and the whole active service story came out of a F/O called C.H.Housden.

The medals were a named DFC, 39-45 star, air crew Europe with France and Germany bar, BWM and DM along with the miniature set and all paperwork and boxes in excellent condition, including a copy of his citation for the DFC being awarded.

The accompanying ephemera included the log books of his whole flying career. Maps, newspaper cuttings, group photos in front of the Lancaster, RAF paperwork and manuals and the crest of 617 squadron along with autographed reunion menus for the 617 squadron.

The logbooks charted this extraordinary airman’s career from the beginning, training in Canada and the US, flying tigermoths and stearman p 17`s and graduating into the heavy bombers of the time, the Handley`s, Ansons, Wellingtons and finally the Lancaster’s of 617.All units he was in is clearly documented as is his flying hours which totalled 767 hours 40 minutes.

All 45 of his missions are in these books including all 3 missions, which went on to earn the battle honour of the sinking of the Tirpitz for this squadron.

Entries reveal dropping the “tallboy” bombs created by Barnes Wallis, the third operation against The Tirpitz sinking it, and being attacked by a FW 190 to mention just a few.

Once the war was over he kept in touch with the squadron as there are numerous menus from re union dinners all autographed by the squadron which include:

Barnes Wallis
Arthur T Harris “Bomber Harris”
Bill Reid V.C.
Leonard Cheshire V.C.
Charles Whitworth Air Commodore C.B.E., D.S.O., D.F.C., R.A.F.
Sir Ralph Cochrane G.B.E., K.C.B., A.F.C.
David Shannon
Vera Lynn D.B.E.
Richard Todd (played Guy Gibson in the film)
J.B.Tait

To mention just a few, total signatures added up to 108 and many are in triplicate on separate menus.

This lot is to be auctioned at Boningtons Fine Art & Antiques Sale on Wednesday 20th October 2010

Auction Estimate £6,000-£8,000

My name is Sam Tong, I go to Higham Ferrers School in Northamptonshire and I have chosen to do my 07work experience at Boningtons the Essex Auctioneers. This will be my first experience of working in a outside environment, I’ve found my duties to be varied throughout the week, whereby some07day’s I’ve been helping loading and unloading of various antiques and found it very interesting, unwrapping treasures that have included silver teapots, clocks etc.

I have been assisting with the day to day running of the Auction house including the entering of receipts onto the computer system, dealing with enquiries both in person and over the phone and have assisted with the lotting in of all the antiques ready for the auction.

After the sale on Monday 29th March I was amazed the amount of people who turned up and were bidding frantically on unusual items i.e. A Russian enamel purse which was bid to eleven hundred pounds and a collection stamps made eight hundred twenty.

I have been taking calls in for the auction and been helping customers at the front desk, and also our next sale is on the 12th of April.

In the next auction there will be all kinds of antiques like a vintage 1930’s bike, some old Victorian hanging baskets, and old 1940’s ice cream bike, lots of jewellery and lots, lots more.

On Monday the 8^th March 2010 Boningtons had the pleasure of hosting Celebrity Cash in the Attic, with Joe Pasquale the former ‘King of the Jungle’ together with new presenter Jenny Bond.

The buyers turned out in force for the sale, which had a number of interesting lots including a collection of eighteen sovereigns, realising £2,600 and an Art Deco silver tea set realising £1100 against an estimate of £700 to £1000. There was also a Troika vase which realised £340 amongst many other unmentionable collectables.

Part of the Boningtons team with Jonty from Cash in the Attic

Joe Pasquale was here raising funds for his charity and managed to successfully auction of his stage muscles suit to everyone’s amusement for £60, which went towards the total £510 for his charity Cerebral Palsy. 

It was rather interesting having the camera crew fighting through the sale room to get the perfect shot of the antiques, collectables and works of art on show, which is to be televised later this year.

Boningtons spokesman Shaban Munir said ‘…it was a very strong sale with most of the lots consigned through probates and solicitors. Firms throughout Essex and London have stressed the importance of fresh material to the market which can have a successful input to a sale.’ 

We had a call about 4 weeks ago to visit a client in Upton Lane, East Ham, where a lady had been left the contents of an old toy and haberdashery shop.

The call was passed on to our auctioneer Guy Wisbey who after speaking to the lady was quietly confident of an interesting visit.

However upon entering the premises it became quickly apparent to our auctioneer that time had stood still since the 1960s. After fighting through the rubble where the ceiling had caved in he discovered early 20th century haberdashery cabinets amongst spiders and rat droppings.

To his amazement were boxes of original tinplate toys, lead soldiers and Japanese robots which had never seen the light of day.

With some quick thinking a plan was devised with the client to remove the complete contents a week later a 7.5 ton lorry with Boningtons staff  suitably dressed and prepared for a hard days work amongst the toys and debris. The task was to salvage as much as possible providing it was collectable and saleable.

The furniture was put into our fortnightly vintage sale and was keenly contested in a busy room, the remainder is being held back for our specialist toy sale in November.

We are pleased to announce all that was involved came out unscathed and flea less

As all things being equal we are now preparing for our 3rd august sale which will include a consignment of interesting militaria.

WOW! What an extraordinary sale we have just had!

Buyers were particularly selective on what they bid but interest on unusual and quirky items was strong, particularly on a Regency Coco De Mer.   Bids in the room went to £2,000 but it was eventually sold on the telephone for £3,000 to the London trade – against an estimate of £800-£1200.

Bidding was again strong for a pair of 18th century Prattware figurines modelled as rams beside a shepherd and shepherdess.  There were some condition issues but rarity pushed the price up and the hammer eventually fell at £1,400 against a cautious estimate of £300-£500.

Selling furniture is a problem that auctioneers have come across over the past couple of years or so.   Ten years ago a Welsh George III dresser would have made between £3,000-£5,000 but prices have dipped so much that, having placed an estimate of £1,000-£2,000 on a good original example, we still struggled to sell the piece.

However, good prices were achieved on other pieces of furniture.  For example, a Wellington chest sold way above the estimate for £1,200.

Jewellery can be tricky in the present market as diamond prices have fallen and, with De Beers cutting back on operations - but with good named pieces still selling - the market remains buoyant.

All in all, after months of putting the catalogue together, it’s back to the grindstone as we are now preparing for our next fortnightly Vintage Sale on Monday, 29th June.

Buying at auction can be an exciting adrenaline fuelled bargain hunters dream. The thrill of will I – won’t I be successful and then seeing some items fetching thousands, amounts to an enjoyable experience that can be enjoyed by all.

To attend one of our sales it is advisable to first come to the viewing day to get yourself fully acquainted with the items you wish to buy. Check measurements / satisfy yourself to authenticity etc etc. Advice & help is always on hand – just ask!!!

On sale day arrive early and get a paddle number from reception, first timers will be asked to register. Then find yourself a place in the room where the auctioneer can clearly see you. When your lot arrives raise your hand paddle eyebrow whichever you prefer as long as the auctioneer sees you to allow us to know you are bidding. If successful announce your paddle number or raise your card. Then at the end of the auction you can pay at reception and collect your items. Simple!! We do offer a delivery service and it is advisable to get a quote on viewing day so that you can factor this into the cost.

Don’t forget the 15/20% + VAT commission to be added onto the hammer price.

Click here for our Terms and Conditions for buyers.

Selling at auction is a really easy process and Boningtons are available to assist in all ways possible.

Stage One - Bring items into the saleroom for assessment or photographs of furniture if too big to bring. Alternatively, a home visit can be arranged.

Stage Two – Satisfy yourself with the values placed on your items and set a reserve price with the valuer if required, so that the items do not sell for under a certain amount.

Stage Three – We will market advertise and shout about your pieces so that the world knows that they are for sale and we can achieve the best prices possible on your behalf.

Stage Four – Receive a cheque in the post for items sold. We do not charge for the items that have not sold.

In short we offer

• Free Collection Service
• Free Valuations
• Home visits can be arranged
• No Sale No Fee
• All items are listed on the internet
• Best prices are achieved on your behalf

Click here for our terms and conditions for sellers.