First WWI Victoria Cross medal sold for £276,000
Mon Jul 30, 2012 9:52 am
First WWI Victoria Cross medal sold for £276,000
The first Victoria Cross medal awarded to a private in World War I has been sold at auction for £276,000. Private Sidney Godley received it in 1919 for an extraordinary act of bravery at the start of the four-year war. In August 1914, he held his position and protected his comrades for over two hours in the face of enemy German fire, even though he was badly wounded. Private Sidney Godley Pte Godley carried on defending despite having shrapnel in his back and a bullet in his skull
He was eventually captured by the Germans and held prisoner until he escaped four years later. While he was held prisoner in Germany, his captors told him he’d been awarded the Victoria Cross and even invited him to dine with them one Christmas Day to celebrate!
Pte Godley died in 1957, at the age of 68. The anonymous collector bid £230,000 for the medal, but the final amount came to £276,000 including other charges.
http://www.warhistoryonline.com/feature ... 76000.html
The first Victoria Cross medal awarded to a private in World War I has been sold at auction for £276,000. Private Sidney Godley received it in 1919 for an extraordinary act of bravery at the start of the four-year war. In August 1914, he held his position and protected his comrades for over two hours in the face of enemy German fire, even though he was badly wounded. Private Sidney Godley Pte Godley carried on defending despite having shrapnel in his back and a bullet in his skull
He was eventually captured by the Germans and held prisoner until he escaped four years later. While he was held prisoner in Germany, his captors told him he’d been awarded the Victoria Cross and even invited him to dine with them one Christmas Day to celebrate!
Pte Godley died in 1957, at the age of 68. The anonymous collector bid £230,000 for the medal, but the final amount came to £276,000 including other charges.
http://www.warhistoryonline.com/feature ... 76000.html
Re: First WWI Victoria Cross medal sold for £276,000
Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:41 am
Am I the only one who finds the sale of medals distasteful ?
Re: First WWI Victoria Cross medal sold for £276,000
Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:55 am
WallyB wrote:Am I the only one who finds the sale of medals distasteful ?
No you are not.
Jeff
Re: First WWI Victoria Cross medal sold for £276,000
Mon Jul 30, 2012 1:45 pm
The guy's dead and gone, and you could look at this as his last gift to his family. If I could, I'd sell all my medals for a bunch of money I would too. I can't even buy an RC and a moon pie with all the crap the Army gave me. If my family could pay for my niece's and nephew's college with my medals after I die by selling them, more power to em. It's a bit of brass and some ribbon. If someone wants to pay a bunch of money for them, more power to them. They certainly don't do me or anyone else any good. Mind, I threw all my military crap in the Atchafalaya Basin when I got out. I'd have to ask the Govt to send me new ones so I could sell them 
Re: First WWI Victoria Cross medal sold for £276,000
Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:13 pm
muddyboots wrote:The guy's dead and gone, and you could look at this as his last gift to his family. If I could, I'd sell all my medals for a bunch of money I would too. I can't even buy an RC and a moon pie with all the crap the Army gave me. If my family could pay for my niece's and nephew's college with my medals after I die by selling them, more power to em. It's a bit of brass and some ribbon. If someone wants to pay a bunch of money for them, more power to them. They certainly don't do me or anyone else any good. Mind, I threw all my military crap in the Atchafalaya Basin when I got out. I'd have to ask the Govt to send me new ones so I could sell them
Sorry you felt/feel that way about what you earned.
Cheers,
Jeff
Re: First WWI Victoria Cross medal sold for £276,000
Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:24 pm
Why? I, the men I served with, and the people I helped, know what I did. That's all I ever really cared about. The medals are just for show, you know. If the only pride I can find is in some medals the Army had to give me so other people could see I did something, I'm probably missing the point of doing what I did to earn them in the first place. If they could be used for some greater purpose than to remind my sister's kids that their uncle was mildly insane as a kid, why, all the better. I'm sure they would look good on the wall in an "I love me," display. But honestly, that was never my bag. 
I'm glad I served. I got to help people sometimes. That's all that really matters.
I'm glad I served. I got to help people sometimes. That's all that really matters.
Re: First WWI Victoria Cross medal sold for £276,000
Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:39 pm
So what is the "warbird" link here????
Re: First WWI Victoria Cross medal sold for £276,000
Mon Jul 30, 2012 8:55 pm
As far as I can tell, none. Just an opportunity for people to hyperventilate.