Rare group of medals belonging to a founder of 1st Airborne Division sell at auction

Medals belonging to one of the founders of the 1st Airborne Division have been sold at auction.

The rare group of 12 medals was awarded to Brigadier Sir Mark 'Honker' Henniker of the Royal Engineers.

He was one of the founders of the 1st Airborne Division, most famous for Operation Market Garden in the Second World War and its role in parachuting into Nazi-controlled land.

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Brig Sir Mark's medals sold for £100,000 at Noonans Mayfair auction house after initially being expected to fetch between £60,000 and £80,000.

Christopher Mellow-Hill, head of client liaison at Noonans, said the price reflected Brig Sir Mark's "outstanding leadership under fire while severely wounded capturing 90 Italian prisoners in the Sicily landings".

He also said it represented Brig Sir Mark's role "as a key figure in the famous World War 2 raids of Bruneval and Telemark".

Mr Mellow-Hill added that the "ultimate accolade" was the award of the DSO for Brig Sir Mark's role in rescuing and evacuating 2,400 men of the 1st Airborne Division trapped by the Germans west of Arnhem as a result of Operation Market Garden.

He initially honed his skills on the North West Frontier of India before the war, then successfully managed to escape with his men from the beaches of Dunkirk in a rowing boat.

As a lieutenant colonel, he helped form the 1st Airborne Division in the autumn of 1941 – becoming a founding member and part of the Skeleton Divisional Staff.

He then advanced to the role of chief Royal Engineer in the division.

He was integral to the famous Bruneval Raid in February 1942, a mission that saw airborne forces parachute north of Le Havre to take the site of a radar, as well as the attempted destruction of the water production plant at Telemark in Norway in November the same year.

Again, he helped plan the airborne element of the invasion of Sicily, taking part in the airborne landings of Operation Husky, flying in by glider in 1943.

The peak of his career came during Operation Market Garden, where Brig Sir Mark was responsible for planning and executing Operation Berlin, the night-time evacuation of the 1st Airborne Division.

On the night of 25/26 September 1944, he executed the intricate plan that secured the rescue of some 2,400 men across the Lower Rhine in boats and rafts.

This all took place under heavy fire and was personally directed by him throughout the night from his position on the riverbank.

Brig Sir Mark died in October 1991, aged 85, after a long military career and was laid to rest in Saint Peter's Church in Llanwenarth Citra, Abergavenny.