RICHARD TODD'S BERET

Chatting this morning about the acquisition of Richard Todds beret for the Airborne Forces museum.
I had a long chat with Richard in 2008 when the museum moved up to Duxford from Aldershot, and I am sure we spoke about his smock and beret used in WW2 at Pegasus Bridge and also in the 1962 film Longest Day where he played Major John Howard who took the bridge in the most daring glider operation of the war. The precision was outstanding.
Sadly a year later in 2009 Richard died aged 90. A sad loss.

Sadly, unless the auction winner donates it to us at the museum, we can't raise those types of funds!:(

Actor s prized paratrooper beret is up for auction at £5,000 - YouTube

What is the estimated value?

£5000 starting price.

Ouch, that's a high starting price Gil.

Agreed...............if he had signed a piece of paper to say it was his and as provenance before he died or supplied definitive proof of it through holes identification it might be worth that to a collector I suppose.
I have two old berets I could say anything about and put a value on them, so whats to say this isn't somebody elses beret being put up. Real value up to £500 on a good day.
Shame on the guy not looking at Richards Regimental Museum first, rather than trying to make a profit from a house clearance IMHO!!

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Originally Posted by Gil Boyd

Shame on the guy not looking at Richards Regimental Museum first, rather than trying to make a profit from a house clearance IMHO!!

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Perhaps he doesn't know the museum exists. Reach out to him.

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Originally Posted by Gil Boyd

Real value up to £500 on a good day.

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Not bad for tuppence worth of beret...when new.

If house clearance is his business then, of course, he needs to make money to live.

A great number, probably most, military museums have vast swathes of undisplayed exhibits, donated from well wishing relatives, only for the artefacts never to see light of day.

Hardly any Victoria Crosses in museums are the real one, normally replaced by a copy because of insurance purposes, whilst the original languishes in a safe 'out the back'.

Even articles 'loaned' to museums have been sold off when relocating or closing down and the relatives only finding out when the auction occurs, if at all.

I am sure the Airborne Museum would have proudly displayed the beret, but in this day and age, having it gifted by someone with no family connection is an unrealistic expectation.

The real question is, did he not have family ? Was there nobody who wanted to keep it in the family, or did they just want the house emptied, sold and divided.....................................

Quite true, in recent years the Royal Ontario Museum In Toronto put a large number of firearms in their collection up for sale, not to collectors but to museums outside Ontario. The estimated value was $300,000 dollars. A small museum in the west were offered the arms and were given a certain amount of time to raise the funds but were unable to raise them. At the expiry date they had only raised $15,000 , a gift from a gun collecting association in Alberta. The ROM let them have them for the 15g's and they were shipped west with the stipulation they could not be sold to the public. These arms that had been loaned and or gifted to the museum over the years left the province of Ontario for their new home in the west. To keep a long story short the recipient museum folded and the guns were dealt away into private hands secretly. And that my friends has been the fate of many artifacts. The Beret truly belongs in the regimental museum but if and when it does papers should be drawn up to ensure it remains there by the donor. Donated items become the property of museums and can become deaccessioned at their discretion.

Roy,
We have all our Regimental Victoria Crosses in a safe. As you say the copies are on show behind glass.
This guy is not playing the historic game, he needs to make money out of what normally is rubbish to many. Someone happened to mention whose house it was and Bobs your uncle, he's onto a winner. Why the family didn't ask us is beyond me!
I suppose all his awards will turn up one day on Ebay!!

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Originally Posted by #1oilman

The Beret truly belongs in the regimental museum

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Then you have a sad occurrence such as the fire in Quebec city along side the plains of Abraham that took the armory of "Les Voltigeurs de Québec". The firemen on scene agreed the big wooden structure was going so they carried out the most valuable museum pieces and left the old girl go... http://www.army-armee.forces.gc.ca/e...bec/index.page

It's probably worth speaking to the auction house before the auction and explaining the situation to them. A worst case scenario is that they can do nothing to help. Unless one ask it will never be known if they could have done anything to help.

I spent a lot of time under a beret, the one pictured doesn’t look very “worn”. It doesn’t take long to acquire dirt, sweat, creases, fold and imprints from flashes, crests and wings.

This beret doesn’t have any character!

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Originally Posted by frenchkat

I spent a lot of time under a beret

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So did I, and I can't say I agree with your assessment of the headress. It does look worn, but a piece of clothing doesn't carry character, the man wearing it has the character.

There must be thousands of pieces of kit and clothing etc in collections that the owner is unaware of the fact that the object once took part in a famous battle or was once worn by a famous person because the object is unable to speak. If objects suddenly gained the ability to speak, people's collections could suddenly become very valuable indeed.

I have a few bits and pieces like that, but with confirmed provenance.
One of which is a telescope owned by a high ranking officer in the Boar War which I put on this site some years ago.
Its only as good as what people will pay for it I suppose.

I am still waiting to find out what Richards Beret finally sold for but can't find any reference to it, assuming the auction still went ahead on the 17th February!!!

13 Bids.................£7,000 :ugh:

Historically Important British Paratroopers Beret Belonging to British Army Officer and Later Hollywood Actor, Lieutenant Richard Todd OBE, Who Served with 7th Battalion Parachute Regiment on D-Day, Helping Major Howard to Hold Pegasus Bridge on the 6th June 1944, Who He Later Portrayed in the Film

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Originally Posted by Gil Boyd

13 Bids.................£7,000

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It would be somewhat amusing if the original owner turned out to be another "Richard Todd" and not the actor, but not for the successful bidder.

Theirs money in my beret, especially if I say Monte wore it :lol:
This hangs on the wall at 4 PARA Officers Mess and shows he was a keen supporter of The Parachute Regiment and the early days of L Detachment SAS.