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Victoria Cross autograph book sells for £4,500 at auction

Hansons Montage of autographs and photosHansons
The book was signed during a celebration to mark the the Victoria Cross centenary, attended by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956

A "most extraordinary" book containing the signatures of 128 Victoria Cross (VC) war heroes has sold at auction for £4,500.

It dates from 26 June 1956, when the late Jack Masters was a toastmaster at the Victoria Cross centenary celebrations in London, attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

VC medallists were asked to sign a book for the Queen, and Mr Masters asked them to sign his as well.

It was sold to a buyer in the UK.

The Victoria Cross is one of the highest honours for British soldiers and is awarded for extreme bravery when confronting the enemy.

The National Army Museum described it as "only equalled in status in 1940, when the George Cross was instituted for acts of bravery not in the enemy's presence".

The book was eventually passed down to Mr Masters's son-in-law John Dunkley, 79, from Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire.

Hansons Captain Ishar SinghHansons
Capt Ishar Singh, the first Sikh recipient of the VC, was a soldier in the British Indian Army - he gained the medal for "conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty" in 1921, near Haidari Kach in what is now Pakistan
Hansons Charles Hazlitt UphamHansons
New Zealand-born Charles Hazlitt Upham was awarded a VC with bar

"When the VC veterans arrived for dinner they were asked to sign a book for the Queen," he said.

"My father-in-law was a very crafty man. He took along his own autograph book, put it next to the Queen's, stood by the table and asked them all to sign his book too.

"That means the only other VC signatures book like this in the world will be in the royal collection."

Hansons Stanley Hollis, VCHansons
Middlesbrough-born Stanley Hollis was the only man to win a VC on D-Day in June 1944, the auction house said

He said a friend had researched all the names in the book, "so historical work has been done".

Hansons Autographs in a bookHansons
The book is believed to be the only one of its kind, other than one in the collection of the Royal Family

The book was sold at Hansons Auctioneers in Etwall, near Derby, with a guide price of £3,000-£5,000.

Its militaria consultant, Matt Crowson, said: "It is one of the most extraordinary militaria finds we have ever made - an almost unique archive of signatures of men rewarded for immense bravery.

"As far as we can ascertain, no other collection of VC winners' signatures as comprehensive as this example has ever been offered for sale."

Mr Crowson said the book contained the signatures of "every Victoria Cross holder who was well enough to attend the function".

He said the book contained 127 signatures, with another one added on a loose piece of paper.

He added that while it may have seemed "a little cheeky" of Mr Masters to ask for the signatures, the auction house "understood [the Queen] granted him special permission to obtain the signatures - a wonderful act of kindness on her part".

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