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Lord Nelson's buckles sold at auction for £2,000

Hansons Auctioneers Two 19th century shoe buckles are displayed on a felt cloth and photographed from above. They are elaborately decorated, and a dim gold in colour. They have a ribbon pattern around the outside and a rusty metal fixing in the middle of both. Hansons Auctioneers
The buckles were worn by Lord Nelson during the Napoleonic Wars and later gifted to his second-in-command

Shoe buckles worn by Admiral Lord Nelson during the Napoleonic Wars have sold at auction to a local collector for £2,000.

The naval commander gifted the buckles to his second-in-command Sir Richard Hissey Bickerton in about 1804.

The buckles were kept in the Bickerton family through several generations before being put up for auction at Hanson's Auctioneers.

They have now been sold to a collector from Hampshire.

Getty Images A black and white portrait of naval commander Lord Nelson. His white hair flows out of his naval hat, and his eyes are fixed slightly to the left, with a stiff, high naval collar either side of his neck.Getty Images
Lord Nelson was killed by a French sniper while aboard HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar

Charles Hanson, owner of Hanson's Auctioneers, said: "It was wonderful to meet [Bickerton's] descendant and discover the story of the buckles, their provenance and place in British naval history."

Sir Richard Hissey Bickerton was born in Southampton and joined the navy aged 12.

He rose through the ranks before serving with Lord Nelson during a blockade of the French port of Toulon in 1804.

When Lord Nelson was thanked by the City of London Corporation for the blockade, he insisted Bickerton receive equal recognition, later gifting the buckles to him.

Lord Nelson led the Royal Navy to one of its most famous victories at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.

But he was killed during the battle aged 47 after being shot by a French sniper.

After serving with Nelson, Bickerton finished his naval career as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, before later becoming MP for Poole in 1808.

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