Actor's beret expected to fetch £6,000 at auction

Richard Todd on the set of 1962 film The Longest Day

A World War II beret which belonged to former British Army officer turned Hollywood actor Richard Todd is expected to fetch thousands at auction.

Todd, who starred in films including The Dam Busters, Stage Fright and The Hasty Heart, was one of the first British soldiers to parachute into France on D-Day.

The beret, which he wore for his role as Major John Howard in the 1962 film The Longest Day, is due to be auctioned in Leyburn, North Yorkshire later, with a guide price of between £5,000 and £6,000.

Born in Dublin in 1919 Todd died from cancer in 2009 aged 90, having starred in more than 50 films.

The items are expected to sell for up to £6,000

It will be sold alongside an autograph and portrait photo of Todd, as well as production and film correspondence addressed to him.

A spokesperson for auction house Tennants said there had already been "a bit of interest".

"I'm hoping it's going to make that sort of money [the guide price], it has exceeded that price before," they added.

A brochure for the Militaria and Ethnographica auction said the items were discovered when Todd's property was cleared following his death and have since been in a private collection.

The auction house said Todd served with 7th Battalion Parachute Regiment on D-Day, helping Major Howard to hold Pegasus Bridge on the 6th June 1944.

He later portrayed him in the film The Longest Day, in which he wore the same beret being sold.

The actor, who was made an OBE in 1993, was last seen on screen in a 2007 episode of ITV drama Heartbeat.

He also appeared in four episodes of Doctor Who in the 1980s, opposite Peter Davison's Doctor.

In 1950, he was nominated for the best actor Oscar for his work opposite future US president Ronald Reagan in The Hasty Heart.

Todd starred in the 1949 film The Hasty Heart alongside Ronald Reagan

A 10th Century Viking sword is also included in the sale, with a guide price of between £4,000 and £6,000.

That item has also attracted "a bit of interest" ahead of the sale, the spokesperson said.

The brochure said the sword was "said to have been found in the River Witham near Lincoln in 1936" and has been in a private collection since.

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