Heinrich Himmler handwriting sold at Tamworth auction

A handwriting sample believed to be among the last words written by leading Nazi Heinrich Himmler has been sold at auction.

The paper is among a collection of military memorabilia which belonged to one of the British soldiers who arrested Himmler in 1945.

The SS leader had been trying to escape after World War Two ended, disguised as an ordinary soldier.

The collection sold on Thursday for £6,710 in Tamworth, Staffordshire.

Himmler was a key architect of the Holocaust and, after Hitler's death in his bunker, one of the most-wanted Nazis alive when he was stopped on 22 May 1945.

He was ordered by British intelligence soldiers to write out lines to confirm his identity.

Hours later, after revealing who he was to officers, Himmler took his own life by biting on a cyanide capsule hidden in his mouth.

His handwriting sample, along with the SS leader's silk toiletry bag, was taken by one of the soldiers, Grenville Grayer, as trophies.

The lines repeat the phrase "Ich soll das Reinigungsgerät mitnehmen" which an expert at Richard Winterton Auctioneers said roughly translates as "I must bring my rifle cleaning kit".

Mr Grayer, from Great Barr in Sandwell, West Midlands, kept the items in his family and died in 1995.

His family sold the sample along with other memorabilia as well as his medals archive, which includes his British Empire Medal, a swastika armband and a double-sided silk escape-style map.

"All things considered, it is simply an amazing archive," Nick Thompson, from the auctioneers, said.

Mr Grayer was a "unique character", according to his nephew Martyn Grayer, of Lichfield, who said his uncle was "liked by everyone he met".

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]