Dashing hero’s flashing blade fetches £150k

HE was dubbed one of the luckiest men in the Royal Navy – now a sword awarded to a Scottish hero wounded at the Battle of Trafalgar has fetched more than £150,000 at auction.

The elaborately decorated etched and gilt sword was presented by the Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund to Philip Durham, from Largo, Fife, captain of HMS Defiance.

It rewarded his ‘meritorious services’ in the victory over Napoleon’s French and Spanish fleets off Cape Trafalgar on October 21, 1805, during which he captured two ships.

The sword, with a curved 2½ft blade, was the highlight of a Bonhams sale, where it was sold to a UK private phone bidder for £150,250.

Following the Battle of Trafalgar, the Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund presented 23 swords worth £100 each at the time to naval captains who served under Nelson ‘in the dangers and glory of the memorable action’.

The sword was etched with numerous elaborate designs including flowers, dolphins, naval trophies and figures of Britannia and Victory, as well as Durham’s initials in a starburst above a phoenix.

David Williams, head of arms and armour at Bonhams, said: ‘There was a lot of interest from collectors, which undoubtedly contributed to an impressive price.’

Durham was born in 1763 and entered the Navy aged 14.

When he was 18, he managed to jump to safety as HMS Royal George sank in the Solent, near Portsmouth, killing around 900 men, women and children.