Highlights at recent Noonans auctions have included a naval VC, a bomb disposal GM and an unique Canadian combination
TIGRIS GUNBOAT ‘CAVALRY CHARGE’ VC SOLD
The posthumous VC earned by a characterful Royal Navy officer went under the hammer at Noonans
Born in December 1883 in Tranmere, Cheshire, Edgar Cookson joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1897. According to his service record, he quickly came to notice – unfortunately, for “creating a disturbance at a music hall and using obscene language in the streets” when he was supposed to be confined to quarters.
It was an early indication of the spirit that would go on to yield heroics. Passing out as a midshipman, Cookson served during the Boxer Rebellion and when World War One erupted was serving in the sloop Clio having been promoted to lieutenant-commander.
In 1915, Clio was ordered to join a flotilla operating on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, but the shallowness of the waters precluded its involvement. As such, a “gallimaufry of vessels” was assembled from requisitioned craft equipped with boiler plating as ad hoc armour and guns of varying calibre up to 4.7in. The mish-mash of vessels was described as a “great f…
