THE VICTORIA CROSS AND CAMPAIGN MEDALS AWARDED TO CAPTAIN HENRY RITCHIE, ROYAL NAVY, HAVE BEEN SOLD AT AN ON-LINE AUCTION BY NOONAN'S OF LONDON.
23 July 2024


( select to enlarge )
Medal entitlement of Captain Henry Peel Ritchie,
Royal Navy ( HMS 'Goliath' )

  • Victoria Cross
  • 1914-15 Star
  • British War Medal ( 1914-20 )
  • Victory Medal ( 1914-19 )
  • King George VI Coronation Medal ( 1937 )
  • Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ( 1953 )


Noonan's of London is holding an On-Line auction on the 23rd July 2024 comprising the Special Collection of Naval Medals from the collection of the late Jason Pilalas. Included in the sale is the Victoria Cross and First World War campaign medals awarded to Captain Henry Peel Ritchie, Royal Navy, in command of HMS Goliath's steam pinnace, an East Africa award in 1914.

The estimated sale price was between £200,000 and £260,000. The sale hammer price realised £240,000. The identity of the purchaser has not been revealed.


For the award of the Victoria Cross

[ London Gazette, 10 April 1915 ], Dar-es-Salaam Harbour, East Africa, 28 November 1914, Commander Henry Peel Ritchie, Royal Navy ( HMS Goliath's steam pinnace ).

For most conspicuous bravery on the 28th November 1914, when in command of the searching and demolition operations at Dar-es-Salaam, East Africa.

Though severely wounded several times, his fortitude and resolution enabled him to continue to do his duty, inspiring all by his example, until at the eighth wound he became unconscious. The interval between his first and last severe wound was between twenty and twenty-five minutes.

Henry Ritchie was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace on the 25th November 1916.


Henry Ritchie died on the 9th December 1958 in Edinburgh and was cremated at the city's Warriston Cemetery.

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Iain Stewart, 23 July 2024