An incredible collection of medals that charts the UK’s military history over the last 150 years is to go under the hammer at a Dundee auction house.
The massive collection which numbers over 1,000 individual medals includes awards given to soldiers as far back as 1862 for campaigns in South Africa.
They chart the history of British military involvement from then through the Boer War, First and Second World Wars, as well as conflicts in Korea and through to the Gulf Wars and the conflict in Afghanistan.
The collection which also includes heartbreaking mementoes and stories of military sacrifice was put together by a man from Tayside who passed away around four years ago.
His family have now decided to put the collection up for auction at Curr and Dewar Auctioneers in Dundee.
The medals have been split up into 138 lots and is expected to fetch a total of up to £15,000. Some of the most intriguing lots include two sets of medals that appear to have been collected by members of the same families during the two world wars.
As well as the vast array of medals there are some poignant personal reminders of the sacrifice of the war efforts.
One in particular is a book of remembrance celebrating the lives of hundreds of young men, all former pupils of Morgan Academy in Dundee, who died in the First World War.
The Morgan Academy Roll of Honour 1914-1919 contains hundreds of black and white photographs and pen pictures of those ex-pupils who gave their lives during the bloody conflict.
Steven Dewar, of Curr and Dewar Auctioneers, said they expected a large amount of interest from militaria collectors.
He added: “It was a private collector who built it up over a lifetime. There are 138 lots but within that there are medals numbering possibly into the thousands.”
The auction takes place next Tuesday, at 10am, at Curr and Dewar’s saleroom on North Isla Street, Dundee.