World record GBP 138,000 for Victoria Cross

A VICTORIA Cross awarded to an RAF pilot solely on the evidence of a German U-boat captain was sold for a world record GBP 138,000 in London today.

Flying Officer Lloyd Trigg, 29, died in the attack on the German submarine off West Africa in August 1943. His bomber crashed into the Atlantic after being hit by U-boat gunfire.

But Captain Klemens Schmong survived and the full story of the airman's bravery emerged when he and his first lieutenant were later interrogated in England. The previous record price for a VC was GBP 132,000 paid in 1992. David Erskine Hill, head of the medal department at Spink, in St James's, said: "There have been several awards based partly on enemy evidence but this is the only one based solely on German testimony."

Copyright 1998
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.