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Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s is thrilled to present the Medals and Militaria Auction at 399 Strand which will take place on Wednesday 17 September 2025. Highlights of the auction include an extraordinary collection of items from Squadron Leader Peter Cairns, a war hero who took part in the legendary “Great Escape” breakout plot during WW2. This collection is an astonishing military time capsule and will be sold as a single lot, and includes Cairns’ log book, a letter written home from the Stalagluft 3 prisoner of war camp, his jacket, goggles and a number of military medals: Distinguished Flying Cross with reverse dated 1940; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; and 1939-45 War Medal with Mentioned in Despatches oak leaf emblem.
Peter Cairns, the former squadron leader from Berkswell, Solihull, was just 18 when he first flew in the war, and in a heroic career as a pilot he won several medals for his courage under enemy fire. Many daring wartime exploits define him as a true war hero, but his most spectacular came in 1943, when he crash landed his blazing Wellington at night on an enemy aerodrome, with every member of his crew either dead or wounded. He was captured at the scene of the crash and after a brief period in hospital, followed by interrogation, he was sent to Stalagluft 3 – the infamous German PoW camp.
Peter Cairns’ hut was the very one from which the tunnel for Operation Escape 200 was dug in the spring of 1944. He was due to be the last man out, charged with shutting the trap door behind him, but the breakout was discovered before his turn came. This may have proved a blessing in disguise, however, as 50 of the 74 who did manage to escape were later recaptured and executed.
He and his comrades’ actions in the breakout became known as The Great Escape and was later immortalised in the eponymous Hollywood classic, starring Steve McQueen and Donald Pleasance.
Items relating to The Great Escape have proved popular and valuable in auction, with various examples exceeding estimates when sold under the hammer. In 2015, a record was set for an exquisite 1940s Rolex wristwatch whose RAF owner was murdered by the SS after the Great Escape – this rocketed from its £30,000-50,000 estimate, ultimately selling for £165,000.
In 2019, a journal written by another prisoner of war held at Stalagluft 3, alongside a collection of photos and medals, sold at auction for £13,500. And a gold pin with amethyst eyes – the Irvin Golden Caterpillar – given to a pilot who escaped from the notorious prisoner of war camp sold at auction for more than five times its estimate in 2018. Dutch aviator Bram Van der Stok was one of only three people who successfully escaped. An estimate of £500-600 was originally set, but the beautiful pin was bought for £3,226.
Peter Cairns died in 2002, aged 81, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. His collection will be sold via auction at SGBaldwins on Wednesday 17 September 2025 and is expected to sell for £15,000 – 20,000
