Auctioneers

This North West Mounted Police hat badge caught the attention when Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (25% buyer’s premium) of Exeter sold the remaining personal effects of Canadian soldier and policeman Major General Sir Samuel Benfield Steele KCMG CB MVO (1848-1919) on March 19.

George Medals were awarded to military recipients for bravery not in the face of the enemy, so bomb or mine disposal is a classic reason.

Irish-born William W Armstrong (1822-1914) emigrated to Canada in 1851 and initially found success as a civil engineer on the early railways and pioneering photography for industrial purposes.

This stained glass panel painted with two female nudes against a watery background flanked by the words 'FAR' and 'END' to the sides and 'SALVE' at the bottom was keenly pursued at Adam Partridge (20% buyer’s premium) in Cheshire on February 28.

A remarkable sketchbook compiled after its creator had been taken prisoner at the fall of Singapore in the Second World War sold for £1650 (estimate £500-700) as part of a timed online sale.

The latest edition of The Oak Interior auction held by Bishop & Miller (25% buyer’s premium) in Stowmarket on February 28-29 majored heavily on metalwork.

This letter signed by Charles II was written in September 1660, mere months after the restoration of the monarchy.

The Militaria auction at Norfolk saleroom TW Gaze on April 18 includes an item linked to Napoleon’s exile on St Helena.

The Germans began firing V1 flying bombs at Britain in June 1944 and V2 rockets followed that September.

This large rectangular earthenware trough, measuring 20in (21cm) across the handles, is part of the range of flower containers made by the Fulham Pottery for the society florist Constance Spry (1886-1960) from the mid-1930s to the 1950s.

Seventeenth century map of Bermondsey area reveals garden suburb character in a pre-industrial age

The Clarice Cliff, Art Deco & Design auction at Woolley & Wallis (26% buyer’s premium) in Salisbury on March 20 included this rare 10in (25cm) vase, shape no 375, decorated in the Archaic pattern mirroring a capital design from a temple in Luxor.

Mayfair auction house builds on an excellent performance last year with stand-out results at the start of 2024

Three-hundred lot sale of the Art Deco classic shows signs of the market returning to 1990s boom time

Among six-figure successes in the medals market, last year Spink sold the ‘Operation Chastise’ Distinguished Flying Cross group of five given to Dambuster Flt Lt Edward ‘Johnnie’ Johnson for £105,000.

The gift of the private collection of the late George Withers keeps on giving.

Two prominent single-owner collections put together into a single Town & Country sale at Dreweatts generated some decent if selective bidding when it came to the pictures on offer.

With space and privacy at a premium on board ships, sailors used ditty boxes to store their most treasured possessions plus personal necessities and everyday items such as sewing kit.