Rare World War Two medals fetch £100,000 at auction

The medals were sold at a London auction house

A rare collection of 12 medals awarded to a brigadier have fetched £100,000 at auction.

Sir Mark 'Honker' Henniker, from Minehead in Somerset, was one of the founders of the 1st Airborne Division.

His family said they wanted the sale of the medals to highlight the sacrifices made by the division.

Christopher Mellor-Hill, from London auction house Noonans, said the price achieved reflected Sir Mark's "outstanding leadership".

Sir Mark Henniker was a founding member of the British 1st Airborne Division

As the first chief royal engineer and one of the founding members of the 1st Airborne Division, Sir Mark was "integral" to the planning of the Bruneval Raid in 1942.

He also served as chief royal engineer in the Wessex Division during Operation Market Garden.

Sir Mark's family said selling the medals would help to "secure the safekeeping of his medals for the long-term future".

"It is important to us that the heroics displayed by the British Airborne Forces during the Second World War, and the sacrifices made by them, continue to live on in the public conscious for generations to come," they said.

"By selling these medals now we hope to highlight their story." 

The 1st Airborne Division took part in Operation Market Garden

Noonans associate director Mark Quayle, who is a medal specialist, said the collection was an "outstanding group of medals, and of particular importance".

"Brig Sir Mark Henniker's involvement in all things Airborne during the Second World War must be without parallel," he said.

"A key strategist, planner, and an undoubted man of action who came to the fore time and time again - often 'swathed in bandages'.

"His finest hour came when he masterminded the daring night-time rescue of the beleaguered remnants of the British 1st Airborne Division from Arnhem in September 1944."

After a long military career, Sir Mark died in October 1991 at the age of 85.