All items great and small in £50,000 Robert Hardy auction

MEMENTOS from the late actor Robert Hardy’s estate are up for sale tomorrow – and could raise £50,000.

The items – including a Stetson hat and a bow tie once worn by Churchill, a sword and a collection of medieval longbows – are among 150 lots which also feature paintings, furniture and glassware.

Hardy, who starred as vet Siegfried Farnon with Christopher Timothy and Peter Davison in the BBC series All Creatures Great And Small and as Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter films, died aged 91 last August.

His All Creatures character’s name plaque, which was attached to the fictional veterinary practice’s Skeldale House, is tipped to sell for £1,000.

After his performance in the 1981 ITV drama series Churchill: The Wilderness Years, a family member of the wartime leader gave the actor his cream Stetson marked with the initials “WSC”.

The hat is expected to fetch £5,000 and the navy and white polka dot bow tie has an estimate of £600.

The actor developed a keen interest in medieval military history after playing Henry V in the 1960 TV drama An Age Of Kings and collected nine longbows, all valued at £400 each.

Auctioneers Dominic Winter, of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, are handling the sale. Spokesman Colin Meays said: “It has been fascinating to see the personal collection of such a well-known figure.” Hardy with Timothy and Davison, far left, and the All Creatures plaque. A Henry V sword, left, Churchill’s hat, above, and his bow tie, below left. Right, Hardy with longbow