Found in an old cricket bag... medals of one of UK’s bravest families
Auctioneer Alex Keller holds a yeomanry medal from 1891, right. It is one of many won by the Tudors, left MEDALS awarded to one of Britain's bravest families have been discovered in an old cricket bag.
Honours won by many generations of the Tudor family were found in the discarded bag, alongside diaries and photographs of ancestors.
There were also letters from Arthur Tudor, who saw military service in the 1800s, and his grandson Edward, who fought in the First World War, as well as general service medals awarded to family members post-1945.
Arthur Tudor was a prominent figure in Wolverhampton and once ran the Caernarvon Castle pub.
His grandson Edward who fought in the Great War received a Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry.
Fought
There was also a W L Tudor, believed to be William, who served with the Staffordshire Yeomanry in the 22nd Mounted Brigade, which fought the Turks in 1917.
Also among the papers was an enlistment form revealing that another Edward Tudor signed up for military service on February 27, 1855, at 3.30pm.
The document describes the 18-year-old as a labourer, who most likely worked on a farm.
One of his first letters home, written on August 6, 1855, was sent from Parkhurst barracks on the Isle of Wight. Another, dated October 3, 1857, came from Gibraltar. One of the largest medals in the haul was awarded to a Master Arthur Tudor for “diligence, improvement and good conduct” at Wolverhampton's St James Square Academy in 1872.
The collection of the Tudors' medals and correspondence sold at auction on Monday for £1,800.
Nick Thompson, a medal and militaria consultant at Lichfieldbased Richard Winterton auctioneers, which organised the sale, said: “It is one of the finest collections to come to auction for years.
“I was like a child in a toy shop when I saw it.
“We have only been able to highlight parts of the collection as there hasn't been time to sit down and work out how the Tudors were all related.
“There is a bigger story to tell and that, hopefully, will be done by the new owner.
“It is worthy of proper specialised research.”
The anonymous seller, from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, told Mr Thompson that he remembered his grandfather showing him, as a child, his medal collection.
He rediscovered them again two years ago following the death of an elderly family member.
Thousands of coins also went under the hammer in Monday's sale, alongside military memorabilia.
The total collection, auctioned in 85 lots, fetched around £20,000.