Relatives of a World War II hero who thought their family member was "just a cook" were stunned to discover he was part of a secretive unit. Captain Leslie Scott's collection of Special Allied Airborne Reconnaissance Force (SAARF) wings are among the most scarce Allied airborne insignia of the Second World War. Auctioneers have dubbed them "the stuff of which collectors dreams are made" as the unit was made up of just 360 Allied parachute trained special forces volunteers, many of them German-speaking.
It was created in March 1945 to provide teams to be parachuted behind enemy lines to aid allied PoWs who it was feared were in danger of being massacred in the German camps. But his family only discovered his amazing military heroics after his death when they came across the wings in a drawer as they were clearing his flat in London after his death at the age of 89 back in 2008.
And they have spent the last sixteen years in an attic of a house in the village of North Duffield near York until relatives had a clearout and posted some items on eBay, where they received bids of thousands of pounds. They enlisted expert advice and the items are set to go on sale in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, on Wednesday, with one collection of wings, medals and photos expected to sell for £2,500.
Jess Tarver of auctioneers David Duggleby said: "This elite unit was brought together in a matter of weeks and involved just 360 British, American and European parachute trained special forces volunteers, many of them German-speaking. As the invading Allied forces closed in on Berlin from the West and the Russians came in from the East, there were mounting concerns for the safety of PoWs being held in the German camps, indeed there really were fears that there could be massacres.
