New heights in expertise
 

I dont know if anyone else was watching the Antiques Roadshow last night, their militaria " expert" ( he with the Blue Peter badge ) was looking at a painting which depicted an incident in the Battle of Waterloo.

One of his comments about the British officer in the picture was "he is wearing a sabretache the mark of a despatch rider ". I think the remark might have been influenced by a description on the painting about the officer being intercepted on the way to deliver some despatches.

Pleased to have learnt something new: " officers wearing sabretaches are despatch Riders ".

P.B.

I half expected to see a motor bike moving in from the right!

That expert Graham Lay was always wrong. His values were always way out, including important medal groups, valued in the hundreds of pounds instead of the thousands on a regular basis. I say were because he died last year.

Sad to hear about anyone's death. Looking at this:

http://www.wallisandwallis.co.uk/graham-lay

I can now understand why he appeared to be making it up as he went along. It seems anyone can become an expert in any subject if they are in the right place at the right time.

P.B.

Not sure that is a fair comment under the circumstances.
Are you saying that because he started life as an auctioneers porter, spent a great deal of time working within the industry, alongside some very knowledgable people, at several specialists auction houses, picking up a fair bit of knowlledge on the way, cataloguing sales, attending sales, meeting and advising the collectors disposing of their hard built collections, he was not qualified to 'step up' when the opportunity arose?

ps
i do agree that some of his valuations were a bit wayward.

I saw this episode. I seem to recall the 'expert' in question might have been Paul Atterbury:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Atterbury

Bewley,

No I am not saying that at all, I am saying that with some knowledge of Antiques generally and being the expert on the A.R. as the Miscellaneous items expert can you suddenly become the "Militaria " expert ?


I know many of the household names on the Antiques programmes on the telly started their careers as Porters in auction houses.

In the professional body of which I am a retired member you are not allowed to carry out valuation work in locations or on properties of which you have no knowledge or experience.

Peter

I recall once that Graham Lay hugely undervalued a gallantry award for the Dams Raid, and had a tendency to get all emotionally effusive over things.

But at least he presented militaria; I would get very weary of "militaria" previously being basically flintlock weapons as that was the expert's "thing".

Having been at a Roadshow, I know they have a backup to check facts - so silly errors like that...

But it was nonetheless a sad loss and no age at all.

I had the privilege of meeting and corresponding with Graham Lay. He was a nice guy, knowledgeable, and easy to talk to. He had problems with his breathing and always carried an oxygen cylinder with him. He collected military manuals and, if I recall correctly, before his time with Wallis and Wallis had headed the militaria department at Sotheby's.

I enjoyed his enthusiasm and wish more of the so called "experts" were like him. He may have got prices wrong, but what is anything really worth? - it is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it and more if two people want it badly enough at an auction!

You can sense his enthusiasm in an email to me in December 2014: "...I don't know if you watched the Antiques Roadshow a couple of weekends back from Tredegar, when I was talking to a chap who was in a very small team on Operation Tarbrush, just
before D-Day. He was captured and was taken before Rommel in a chateau in Northern France before being taken to a POW camp. We are making a Christmas Special, to be recorded on Thursday, and I will be talking to him again, but this time about his experiences at Christmas 1944 in the POW camp. He was captured with George Lane the leader of the Tarbrush operations. A really fascinating chap..." Unfortunately Graham was too ill to do the Christmas Special.

A nice guy, sadly missed...

Keith

Great references there Keith ... Op Tarbrush and George Lane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tarbrush
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George...h_Army_officer)
I believe he was there when the No.10 (I-A) Cdo 3 (X) Tp memorial was unveiled at Aberdovey
http://www.ajr.org.uk/index.cfm/sect...06/article=139
A very memorable occasion and unforgettable reception afterwards.
What struck me was the number of X Tp veterans who were there (very few still alive missed it), the distances they travelled ... from virtually all continents, and the amount of money they raised between them for the memorial.
http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-mem...-21948255.html

Sorry if this was off at a tangent, but you mention a remarkable man (George Lane) and it was a fantastic experience
Mike

See also http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/w...igarettes.html
Captain Roy Wooldridge RE captured and taken before Rommel.

Tim

Tim
Thanks as ever for the excellent information. Great to add this information to 'X' Troop exploits. Rommel was in deed a remarkable man - as was of course Capt Wooldridge.
Sorry if off at a tangent from the main thread here but really pleased Tim posted this.
Mike

Hi, I'm confused by the term "dispatch rider" why would it not refer to someone on a horse? Do they have a unique name? Mike

Sabretaches were part of the uniforms of many officers in many regiments of the army and it is possible that an officer carrying despatches may have carried them in his sabretache but to say that the sabretache was the mark of a dispatch rider in my opinion shows more enthusiasm than expertise by the person making that remark.

The attached is from the introduction to the MHS Special Number 1987 " Some English Yeomanry Sabretaches " by William Carman

P.