Yarmouth pilot's medals spark bidding frenzy

02 July 2009

He was one of the brave 'Few' who perished as the RAF defeated the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain.

And 69 years later the courageous exploits and personal life of Sgt John Lansdell, a fighter pilot from Yarmouth, has enthralled the world of war memorabilia collectors.

Sgt Lansdell was only 23 when he died on September 17, 1940, after the Hurricane he was piloting was shot down by a Messerschmitt Me 109 over Gravesend in Kent.

In scenes of frenzied bidding, three of his service medals, including one with a highly prized Battle of Britain clasp, and a poignant box of personal items fetched £5,412 at a London auction - nearly double the asking price.

The lot of items at a specialist auctioneer in coins and medals, Dix, Noonan and Webb, attracted so much interest because of the accompanying collection of a birth certificate, family photographs, and drawings which gave a unique insight into the valiant pilot's short life.

Also included in the collection was the box that he used to send his medals back to his parents' home and a note from Yarmouth Grammar School.

Sgt Lansdell was born in March 1917 and his father William was the headmaster of a Yarmouth school.

The family lived in the town's Harley Road and, after leaving grammar school, Sgt Lansdell gained first class honours in aeronautics at Loughborough College.

He joined the RAF in 1937 and was serving with West Sussex-based 607 squadron when he was shot down at 3.40pm over Kent on September 17, 1940. Sgt Lansdell was buried at the church he was christened at - St Margaret's at Hempnall, south of Norwich,

After last Thursday's auction, David Erskine-Hill, from Dix, Noonan and Webb, said: “These were extremely poignant items. Men like Sgt Lansdell saved us all. What made these medals sell so well was the accompanying archive.

“Normally the medals alone would make £200-£300 but the supporting material made the collection very strong.

“There was a lot of bidding, both on commission and in the room because this archive brought the whole thing alive and showed what a sacrifice these boys made.”

In 2000, the EDP's sister paper, the Norwich Evening News, featured an appeal to clear up Sgt Lansdell's grave at St Margaret's.

Later that year, to mark the 60th anniversary of his death, a Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane flew over the grave as a special tribute to the 23-year-old's sacrifice for his country.

After the flyover, Sgt Lansdell's second cousin, Robin Holmes, from Diss, said: “I was 18 months old when he was killed so I never knew him. He's just a big legend in the family.”