Secret $1.1m offer received for Upham's medals

Charles Upham

A militaria collector is willing to offer a world-record price of more than $1 million to buy the double Victoria Cross won by New Zealand war hero Charles Upham.

However, any sale overseas would need to be cleared by the Government, and Captain Upham's family feel it is unlikely their family heirlooms would be allowed to leave the country.

The Herald revealed on Saturday that one of Captain Upham's daughters had been in discussion with the Government over the nation buying the war hero's medals but that their offer had been rejected.

Captain Upham, who died in 1994, is one of three people to have been awarded two Victoria Crosses.

The rarity of a Victoria Cross and bar has lead to international interest in the medals, with an Auckland collector contacting the Herald and asking for an offer of $1.1 million to be passed to the family.

Remuera man Aubrey Bairstow said he could not disclose who had made the offer. As an alternative, he said an Australian auction house had also offered to sell the medals on a zero seller's commission basis. Normally a seller's commission would be between 9 and 14 per cent.

Mr Bairstow said his recommendation to the family would be to sell the medals through the auction house, as he felt an overseas collector might well pay more than $1.1 million for the rare medals - the only double VC awarded to a combat soldier.

"I would have thought it would be more sensible to take it to auction because that way you're not limiting the amount of money that you would get," Mr Bairstow said.

The record price paid for a set of medals is believed to be the £241,500 ($683,410) paid in 2001 for the medals of British ace Air Vice-Marshal Johnnie Johnson.

"The sky would be the limit if it [the double VC] was to come on to the market overseas," Mr Bairstow said. "If it was to be sold in New Zealand, it probably wouldn't actually sell because our antiquities laws are very restrictive and quite damaging to achieving a good price."

The medals are on loan from the Upham family to the Army Museum at Waiouru. They seem likely to stay there, as any sale would come under the auspices of the Antiquities Act.

Under the legislation, the Government can bar the sale overseas of any precious or historic item if its removal from New Zealand would be to the substantial detriment of historical or scientific study or research or would be contrary to the public interest.

"I don't believe the Government would allow the medals to be exported," said Virginia Mackenzie, one of Captain Upham's three daughters.

She said she would consider Mr Bairstow's offer but any sale would need the consent of all three daughters. "The medals were left to the daughters, and they're very precious items. It's not an easy decision."

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs administers the sale of antiquities. A spokeswoman for Cultural Affairs Minister Helen Clark said she would need to take advice from officials if a request was made to sell the medals.

Captain Upham was awarded his first VC in October 1941 for conspicuous gallantry in the battle for Crete. Later captured by the Germans, he made repeated efforts to break out of prisoner-of-war camps and, in 1944, was transferred to the notorious Colditz Castle prison for repeat escapers.

During his captivity his fellow officers lobbied for Captain Upham to receive a bar for his Victoria Cross for gallantry in North Africa.

The award was announced in September 1945. Captain Upham said then that while he felt some pride in receiving the medal, "hundreds of others have done more than I did. They could have given it to one of them".