Badcoe’s VC for auction
This from today’s Australian. FOUR weeks ago, auction house chairman Tim Goodman received a call from a wealthy client in the US.
The businessman, a passionate military memorabilia collector, had learned that medals and frontline archival material belonging to Australian army Major Peter Badcoe, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1967, would feature in Bonhams and Goodman’s May auction, to be held in Sydney on Tuesday.
The collector told Mr Goodman he intended to bid for the Badcoe collection, which includes the only Vietnam War VC medal still in private hands and awarded to Major Badcoe posthumously. The estimated price for the collection, which also features the US Silver Star with Oak Leaf and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm, Gold Star and Silver Star as well as 37 letters, photographs and audio recordings the major sent to his family, is about $400,000-$600,000.I’ll watch this one with interest. Will the government help or will private enterprise act to keep the collection in Australia. Kerry Stokes please note
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Kev
Good to see you back.
Looks like an opportunity for one of those public-private partnerships so enamored by governments today.
I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Good to see you back, Hope the surgery all went well, it’s never fun having people drill holes you! and I hope the medals can stay in Australia a good cause for those fortunate enough to be exceedingly wealthy to help out if the government takes no notice.
I’m sorta back…in spirit but not body. Definitely couldn’t pass PTTs this week.
I am hopeful that some organization or individual will pick up the tab. I was once offered the task of handling the sale of Jacka’s medals (by his Greatgrandson) and in the process did some research. The AWM has, or at least had, a budget to keep our military heritage in Australia as did the RSL. There also existed a group of ‘friends of military heritage’ (for want of a better term) who were and hopefully are active in rounding up the cash.
Stay positive.
HI Kev
It’s staying in Aus. $488k sale.
Looks like the latest news says it was Kerry Stokes who bought it.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23731545-2761,00.html
sorry about the linky.
I’m glad that I didn’t go out of my way to win a meritorious medal…then again I would hope that my family wouldn’t sell the medals that I fought so bloody hard for….