THE VICTORIA CROSS AND CAMPAIGN MEDALS AWARDED TO SERGEANT JOHN WHITTLE, 12TH BN, AIF, HAVE BEEN SOLD BY A NOBLE NUMISMATICS AUCTION IN SYDNEY. |
---|
20 November 2014 |
The Victoria Cross and campaign medals awarded to Sergeant John Whittle, 12th Bn, Australian Imperial Force, have been sold at auction on Thursday, 20th November 2014, by Noble Numismatics of Sydney. The estimated sale price was AUS$550,000 ( £302,000 ). The John Whittle VC group realised a sale hammer price of AUS$500,000 ( £274,241 ). The identity of the purchaser has not been revealed but has now donated the VC group to the Australian War Memorial. |
For the award of the Victoria Cross [ London Gazette, 8 June 1917 ], Near Boursies, France, 9 & 15 April 1917, Sergeant John Woods Whittle, DCM, 12th Bn, Australian Imperial Force.
For conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on two occasions ( near Boursies, France ).
John Whittle was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace on the 21st July 1917.
For the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal ( DCM )
[ London Gazette, 26 April 1917 ], ( no citation ), Le Barque, France, 27 February 1917, Sergeant John Woods Whittle, 12th Bn, Australian Imperial Force.
John Whittle enlisted into the 4th Tasmanian ( 2nd Imperial Bushmen ) Contingent and embarked for South Africa on 27th March 1901 to take part in the 2nd Boer War. He returned to Australia on the 25th June 1902 and shortly after enlisted into the Royal Navy, serving as a stoker for five years on various ships on the Australian Station. After naval service Whittle served in the Army Service Corps, the 31st Battery and the Tasmanian Rifle Regiment before enlisting into the AIF, joining the 12th Battalion on the 6th August 1915. Sergeant Whittle died on the 2nd March 1946, age 63, at his home in Glebe, and was buried at the Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney. |
Iain Stewart, 22 January 2015