First VC won by sailor in WWI included in Royal Navy medal haul up for auction
A collection of Royal Navy medals, including the first VC won by a sailor in the First World War, are expected to fetch £2m at auction.
The Victoria Cross that was awarded to Captain Henry Peel Ritchie tops the collection – and could fetch as much as £260,000 on its own.
Capt Ritchie was wounded eight times in 25 minutes as he tried to steer the steam pinnace from HMS Goliath out of danger during a raid on the port of Dar-es-Salaam – then under German rule – in east Africa in November 1914.
The medal is part of hundreds of decorations, awards, campaign and gallantry medals that were collected by former US Navy officer Jason Pilalas.
The Royal Navy enthusiast's incredible collection spans a couple of centuries, including the Suez Crisis and both World Wars.
Mr Pilalas, who died last year, served three tours in Vietnam and used his successful career in investment management to fund his passion for the Royal Navy.
Nimrod Dix, deputy chairman of auction house Noonans and director of its medal department, said Mr Pilalas was a fascinating character with many facets and many interests "none more so than his relentless pursuit of knowledge of all things relating to the Royal Navy".
"This voracious appetite for knowledge was matched only by his seemingly unquenchable thirst to collect objects relating to his passion," he said.
"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."
Mr Pilalas' collection spans sailors and marines of all ranks and includes decorations won by some of the men who shaped history.
This includes Admiral Guy Gaunt, the intelligence chief in Washington who helped bring the United States into the Great War on the Allied side courtesy of the Zimmermann Telegram.
This was a secret diplomatic communication issued by the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military contract between the German Empire and Mexico if the US entered the war against Germany.
Another award belonged to Admiral Bill Tennant, the captain of HMS Repulse which went down with HMS Prince of Wales in December 1941. He was also key to the successful evacuation of Dunkirk.
Mr Pilalas did not focus solely on Royal Navy sailors, however.
Royal Marines honours are included in the collection, such as those awarded to Sergeant William Carruthers, who grappled with insurgents during the post-WW2 Malayan emergency.
Additionally, there is also a memorial plaque to Major Francis Harvey, whose actions at Jutland spared battlecruiser flagship HMS Lion from blowing up like HMS Indefatigable and Queen Mary.
Perhaps second only to the VC are the 10 medals awarded to Lieutenant Commander William Hiscock.
Aged 53 when war broke out, he became a leading bomb disposal expert, closely associated with Malta.
He dealt with 125 incidents at the height of the Axis siege and was awarded the George Cross for his bravery – although he never received it due to both Lt Cdr Hiscock and his wife being killed during an air raid on Valletta in February 1942.
His medals are expected to fetch between £80,000 and £120,000.
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