War hero’s medals and mementos sell for £9,800
Story of SAS man killed in action in 1945 reads like Hollywood film script
Medals and mementos of an SAS hero whose wartime adventures have been likened to a Hollywood script have been sold for almost £10,000.
Lieutenant James Riccomini MBE fled Nazi capture when his cover in Italy was blown and sought refuge in the Alps.
Medals, personal letters and forged identity documents were sold for £9,800 during an auction held at The Spa Hotel, Mount Ephraim, in Tunbridge Wells, on Tuesday.
Lt Riccomini, who was born in Maidstone, was serving with the Royal Army Service Corps in Egypt when he was snared by the Nazis in 1941 and sent to the Gavi prisoner of war camp.
In September 1943 Riccomini was put on a train to a camp in Austria but the 16 men in the carriage carved a 2ft hole into an end wall and teamed up into pairs to jump from it as it hurtled towards its destination. Matthew Tredwen, valuer and military specialist for C and T Auc Auctions, likened Lt Riccomini’s tale to a 1965 war film starring Frank Sinatra.
He said: “The operation was very similar to Von Ryan’s Express where they escape from the train they are travelling on.
“James Riccomini’s is a very good story that could make a Hollywood film.
“Sadly he was killed in action during Operation Tombola in 1945 which was one of the most famous SAS raids of the Second World War.
“It is the heroic nature of keeping the stories of those brave men and women alive that is what a lot of collectors do it for.
“They want to keep those stories going for future generations.”
Lt Riccomini was killed during the operation to harass the retreating enemy forces in March 1945.
Along with around 50 other commandos, Lt Riccomini was dropped back into Nazi-occupied Italy to the sound of bagpipes played by Scottish volunteer David ‘Mad Piper’ Kirkpatrick.
Three SAS men, including Lt Riccomini, were shot and killed.