War memorabilia collection sells for £83,200 in auction

An Italian Fascist cast bronze eagle sold for £7,500

A collection of over 400 military items has been sold at auction for more than £80,000 - with the highest selling item an Italian Fascist cast bronze eagle.

The highest price was for an Italian Fascist cast bronze eagle that sold for £7,500 despite only having a guide price of £400 to £600.

Warner Dailey, from New Jersey in the US, began collecting the mementos from the age of seven, with items dating back as far as the Crimean War in 1854.

The auction was in Taunton on Friday.

Mr Dailey, who is from Somerset, New Jersey, sold his collection in the auction in Somerset, England, for a total of £83,200.

He said: "I will keep a few things of not very much value which are too sentimental for me to pass up."

'Propeller blade'

The collection had been expected to raise up to £40,000.

Other lots sold included a propeller blade from a World War Two German JU88 bomber, pierced by a cannon ball, which sold for £4,500.

The plane was shot down by F/Lt George Budd and Sgt Evans Beaufighter of 604 Squadron, on 2 May 1941.

It was recovered from the crash site and presented to F/Lt Budd as a souvenir and was later acquired by Mr Dailey.

A piece of metal from a German bomber, bearing the Nazi swastika, sold for £3,200, while an Italian Fascist trophy fetched £2,200.

An inkwell made from the hoof of a horse from the Charge of the Light Brigade sold for £1,000

The collection contained pieces from World War One, World War Two, the Crimean War and Boer War.

A portrait of Hermann Goering, the founder of the Gestapo and commander of the Luftwaffe, and a wooden sideboard from his office in Germany both failed to sell.

The oldest item, sold for £1,000, was an inkwell made from the hoof of a horse that rode in the Charge of the Light Brigade, in 1854 during the Crimean War.

The auction was held at Greenslade Taylor Hunt in Taunton.

A portrait of the Nazi politician Hermann Goering failed to attract any buyers

A piece of metal from a German bomber raised £3,200

The propeller blade came from a German bomber during the Battle of Britain. It is pictured here with the author George Evans