personal letters from British uncle who died right after Dunkirk in May 1940,

I have inherited a trove of items including personal letters, pictures of his grave in Belgium, some personal effects, letters from the local mayor of the town and a letter from an officer in his unit who was at his side when he died and return his personal items to my grandparents. Also, a War Office notice as to location of grave. I have been told that having this level of detail, with old pictures and the items, makes this an important grouping and that I should look to connect with a British military collector. What do you all think? The items returned include his omega watch, a silver cigarette case, his ring, and perhaps a set of engineering pocket tools [he was an engineer.]

How might I approach this? I would definitely like everything to remain together as he was a real hero who apparently died to protect his men. Thanks for thoughts, advice.

 

I'd contact the Imperial War Museum about making a donation.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/

Debora

 

Thanks so much Debora! I also have been given the names of UK auction houses such as Noonans Mayfair, Bosleys Specialist Military and C & T Auctioneers. Do you have any experience with those sorts of collector networks?

 

No, but my personal opinion is collections of this nature belong in an institution where they will be preserved and available for access by scholars.

Debora

 

I'm also hoping that it will be possible to donate/gift the letters and documents--although I'm not sure about some of the personal items [the ring and so on] I'll connect with the museum and see what their views are.

 

Here's the information you'll need before you reach out to IWM's Collections department.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/managing/offer-material

Debora

 

Depending on the model of the Omega watch, you may want to contact an auction house that sells vintage watches.

I don't know if all Omega watches are valuable, but I bought my husband one when he graduated from college in 1974. His model is a Speedmaster (the watch the astronauts wore).

I also gave him a Rolex for our 30th wedding anniversary.

They are both stainless steel models & are both are approximately equal in value.