War hero's medals 'remind us of the sacrifices made' say his family
Sir Mark 'Honker' Henniker's achievements during the war were legendary
Last updated 16th Feb 2024
The family of a Minehead man say putting his medals up for auction 'show the sacrifices made' and helps to highlight the stories for future generations.
Yesterday £100,000 was paid for the 12 medals - which show Sir Mark 'Honker' Henniker's 'outstanding leadership' in the Second World War.
He was one of the founders of the 1st Airborne Division.
Christopher Mellor-Hill, from London auction house Noonans, said: "The extremely important and rare group of 12 awarded to Brigadier Sir Mark ‘Honker’ Henniker of the Royal Engineers - one of the founders of the 1st Airborne Division who were most famously known for Operation ‘Market Garden’ in the Second World War – sold to a Private Collector against an estimate of £60,000-80,000.
"Henniker, who was born in Minehead in Somerset in 1906, counted the famous Bruneval Raid, of February 1942, among the daring missions he helped plan, as well as the attempted destruction of the Heavy Water Production Plant at Telemark, Norway in November that year.
"Earlier, he had escaped with his men from the beaches of Dunkirk in a rowing boat, and in 1943 he played a major role in the invasion of Sicily.
"Having honed his skills on the North West Frontier, following Dunkirk and advanced to Lieutenant Colonel, in the autumn of Henniker 1941 became one of the founder members, and part of the skeleton Divisional Staff, of the fledgling 1st Airborne Division."
After a long military career, he died in October 1991, aged 85, and is buried in Saint Peter's Church, Llanwenarth Citra, Abergavenny.
There's more about his life here