Chichester war hero's medals sell for thousands at Mayfair auction

Sub Lieutenant Jack Easton was trapped underneath the rubble of a building when an enemy mine exploded in London in the Second World War.

Now, the prestigious George Cross medal which he won for his gallantry has sold for £110,000 following his death.

Sub Lt Easton, who died at the age of 88 in his home in Chichester in 1994, lay alone for hours with a fractured skull, broken back and broken legs before he was pulled from the debris.

Sub Lt Jack Easton (Image: PA)

He had previously saved hundreds of lives by defusing 16 explosives, including one which crashed through the roof of a hotel and hung precariously from a chandelier.

Writing about the October 1940 incident in his book Wavy Navy: By Some Who Served, he said:

“Of course, I did not know this would be my last assignment in mines disposal work when I left the Admiralty before breakfast that morning and was carried by car to Hoxton.

“At the back of the minds of us who did this work was an acceptance that there probably would be a ‘last.’

Sub Lt Easton's George Cross (Image: PA)

“But in defence of our sanity, and perhaps to stop us leaping from the cars that carried us to each assignment, we did not dwell on this probability.

“It was there but suppressed. If and when the ‘last’ mine came ... well it came.

“Several of our section had found it; some, less fortunate than I, did not live to tell the story.”

The book describes how the surrounding area had been evacuated and Sub Lt Easton decided to try to defuse the bomb where it was, to avoid disturbing it.

As he worked his assistant, Bennett Southwell passed him the tools. They had not been working for long when suddenly the device dropped and started ticking.

Knowing they had only 12 seconds until it detonated, they both ran. Sub Lt Easton was buried under rubble from the explosion but OS Southwell was caught in the blast.

Both Bennett Southwell and Jack Easton were awarded the George Cross - and Sub Lt Easton's was among a group of seven of his honours that sold at Noonan's Auction House.

OS Southwell's medal is on display at the Imperial War Museum. He, was killed in the incident and his body was found six weeks later.

Sub Lt Easton described running from the building he was working in to save his life. But the mine exploded and he was buried alive, describing it as like a “living hell”.

He made a full recovery after a year in plaster and was awarded a George Cross for his bravery.

Sub Lt Easton's medals (Image: PA)

The admiralty, with whom he served, sent champagne to his hospital room and told him to listen to the 6pm news where the honour was announced.

He was invested by King George VI at Buckingham Palace on 23 September 1941.

The medal is the civilian equivalent of the Victoria Cross and is the highest honour given to civilians.

Sub Lt Easton’s medal was bought by a private collector at an auction Mayfair. The medal was expected to fetch as much as £120,000 but sold for £110,000.

Christopher Mellor-Hill, head of client liaison at auction house Noonans, said: “We are pleased to see such bravery rewarded with a price in excess of £100,000 and glad to say that his George Cross has remained in Britain.”

Nimrod Dix, deputy chairman of Noonans, added: “Easton was no stranger to the nerve-wracking business of mine disposal, having earlier made safe 16 such devices, including one which had crashed through the roof of the Russell Hotel in Bloomsbury and ended up hanging from the chandelier in the main dining room.

Brighton College

“The grateful hotel owner presented Easton with a cheque for £140 - and an offer of Sunday lunch for his family for life - but both had to be rejected ‘as a matter of honour’.

“The Second World War was really the first war where civilians were on the front line in the cities that were being attacked. “As a result of this, it was decided that there was a need for a new gallantry award and the George Cross was introduced by George VI in 1940.”

Easton was born in Berkshire in 1906 but was educated at Brighton College.

He later trained as a solicitor and worked for his family law firm in the City of London.

After the war he managed to survive and returned to his family’s law firm where he was a committee member of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association from 1957 to 1994.

Sub Lt Easton died at the age of 88 in Chichester in December 1994, with his obituary notice in The Daily Telegraph describing him as “a witty extrovert” who “was highly attractive to women.”