First naval VC of WWI awarded to sailor wounded eight times sells for £240k

The first naval Victoria Cross of the Great War - which was won by a Royal Navy officer who sustained eight separate wounds - has been sold at auction for £240,000.

The medal awarded to Captain Henry Peel Ritchie surpassed its lower guide price estimate of £200,000.

The first part of the collection, comprising 250 medals auctioned off by Noonans Mayfair, fetched a total hammer price of £1.8m. 

• First VC won by sailor in WWI included in Royal Navy medal haul up for auction
• What are the different medals that can be awarded?
• Missing Victoria Crosses safe after being returned to museum anonymously

Capt Ritchie, who was born in Edinburgh, was honoured for his heroic command of the steam pinnace of HMS Goliath at Dar-es-Salaam in East Africa on 28 November 1914.

His gallant actions earned him the Senior Service's first VC of the First World War.

Capt Ritchie took control of the pinnace under heavy fire, replacing his wounded coxswain.

He successfully navigated the vessel out of the harbour despite being wounded eight times – on the forehead, in the left hand, twice in the left arm, in his right arm and hip, with two bullets going through his right leg.

The medal was purchased by a private collector.

This sale was part of a larger collection of naval medals from the estate of the late Jason Pilalas, an American naval officer with a deep passion for maritime history.

"He was not only a man of many talents, but he was also a man of many interests, none more so than his relentless pursuit of knowledge of all things relating to the Royal Navy," said Nimrod Dix, deputy chairman of Noonans and director of the medal department.

"This voracious appetite for knowledge being matched only by his seemingly unquenchable thirst to collect objects relating to his passion.

"However, as much as Jason cherished his collection, he was always mindful of the fact that he was just the custodian of these objects in his own lifetime."

Among other notable sales within the collection was the Second World War bomb and mine disposal George Cross and Distinguished Service Cross group of 10 medals awarded to Lieutenant Commander William Ewart Hiscock.

Lt Cdr Hiscock's medals sold for £140,000, surpassing their estimate of £80,000 to £120,000.

He was renowned for his service as Controlled Mining Officer at HMS St Angelo in Malta, where he dealt with more than 125 incidents during the island's siege.

Lt Cdr Hiscock and his wife were killed in a bombing raid on Valetta in February 1942, just days after his George Cross was announced.