An Antiques Roadshow expert was left utterly astounded by a collection of Second World War medals and memorabilia, accompanied by an “incredible story”.
War specialist Mark Smith was visibly excited at Belfast’s Botanic Gardens as he encountered a guest who presented a series of medals, prompting the expert to express his enthusiasm.
“My friends say to me ‘You must see some amazing things when you do the Roadshow and today I’ve seen an amazing thing”, Smith remarked.
“Now we’ve got a miniature set of medals here. Now these are the medals that you wear in the evening, either on mess dress or an evening dress when you go out to dinner.”
The owner of the medals revealed they had once belonged to the “founding father of the SAS (Special Air Service)”, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair Mayne, DSO, which were acquired from his niece.
Antiques Roadshow guest speechless as incredible medals from legendary war hero given eye-watering value (Image: BBC)
An Antiques Roadshow guest brought in a collection of medals from Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair Mayne. (Image: BBC)
“These are part of the War Years Remembered collection, a military museum just down the road.
“I know you’ve got lots, lots more stuff. I know that and we couldn’t get it all round the table.
“Because let’s face it, you brought tonnes. So the miniature medals themselves are incredible.”
The expert then detailed the impressive array of medals, including the rare “almost unheard of Distinguished Service Order with three bars”, the 1939 -1945 Star, Africa Star and the Legion d’Honneur.
Smith added: “So some people have an idea of what this man did”, highlighting the significance of the items.
Adding his thoughts, the guest said: “And as you mentioned, the fledgling SAS, the first operation failed and the second operation, this fork here, he took this souvenir from the mission, which he destroyed 30 aircraft and that sealed the fate of the SAS with the Second World War. That’s what starts it off.”
“It’s an incredible story”, Smith acknowledged, before inquiring: “So he’s wearing these medals after the war, and what happened to him?”
Antiques Roadshow expert Mark Smith shared that the bigger version of the guest’s medals would be worth £1 million. (Image: BBC)
In reply, the guest shared: “Sadly, in 1955, he was driving his car at 4 o’clock in the morning, collided with a lorry and was killed. 40 years of age.”
Symptathetically noting the irony, the expert remarked: “You spend five years fighting some of the most dangerous missions of the Second World War and you crash your car after a night out.”
When concluding the valuation, Smith highlighted the significant worth of the larger medals.
“If you had the big ones, they are monumental enough to command £1 million,” he estimated.
“That would easily be the price, because of who this man is.”
The guest took a moment, closing his eyes and exhaling deeply in sheer astonishment.
Smith revealed: “The miniatures and the other things that you have, I would say around £50,000.”
The owner of the medals let out another profound breath, utterly lost for words at the five-figure estimate.
Smith expressed his admiration: “For someone like me who has read about these people for all of my life and done that, it is a real privilege to see such a set of medals.”
He gratefully concluded: “Thank you so much for bringing those along.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on One and iPlayer.