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47 D-Day Intelligence Notebook. A small notebook kept by Major John Jerome Stonborough (1912-2002), an American serving in the Canadian Army during World War II as an intelligence officer and interpreter, beginning with the dated heading ‘16 Apr 44 Forthcoming Operations - Operation “Overlord”’ and giving brief notes of his activities across five pages until the end of July, he goes on to note an (intercepted?) message which orders ‘... shoot strike leaders forthwith or else shoot every tenth man every half hour until strike leaders have confessed. Then shoot same Sep. 44’, various technical German army notes and hierarchy structure, etc., a total of 94 pages in blue ink and one typed page of Adolf Hitler quotes, remaining leaves blank, Stonborough’s ownership signature at front, hole-punched and contained in a limp leather Walker’s loose leaf notebook folder, a little rubbed, 8vo and Blenheim bomber crash 1940 - eyewitness account
49* Blenheim Bomber Crash. An eyewitness account of a Blenheim Bomber crash near Oxford, 1940, described in an 11-page autograph letter by the artist Peter Robert Russell White (1921-1985), in pencil on six leaves of lined blue paper, describing in detail the event leading up to the crash of the Bomber near Bagley Wood, and the immediate aftermath of the crash and his assistance to the injured aircrew, with an annotated drawing on page 2, a little creased where folded, together with two associated letters and items by White (and his sister Pat) which also recount the story as well as the cleaning up of the crash site and a visit from an RAF officer afterwards, both similarly written in pencil on lined blue paper, 8 pp. and 6 pp. respectively, all 8vo
48* Edward VIII (King of Great Britain, 1894-1972). Two vintage press photographs, 1937, gelatin silver prints, both from the visit of the Duke of Windsor to the Mercedes factory in Nazi Germany in 1937, one showing him being shown around the factory by officials, the second a bird’s eye view of Edward walking in front of officials and seemingly giving a Nazi salute to the onlooking Nazi-saluting crowds, 11.5 x 17cm and the reverse, both matted in modern boards with explanatory printed caption windowmounted beneath (2)
£200 - £300
The letter (written to his parents) starts with his description of the stricken plane in trouble, followed by a description of the crash scene and the three aircrew who had been thrown from the aircraft. He describes the condition of both the men and their machine, as well as their words to him. Young White asked one of the men who was lying next to the aircraft whether it was safe, to which he replied yes. However Peter was shocked to later find out that the aeroplane was fully fuelled and armed, and could have blown up at any time. The Blenheim crashed 150 yards from White and he was the first person on the scene. The experience affected him throughout his life. His hand-drawn notebooks and diaries were sold by Christie’s on 6 June 2007 (lot 120) and the crash is noted in the description there. (4) £200 - £300
John Jerome Stonborough was the second son of the wealthy American and art collector Jerome Stonborough and Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein, of the prominent and largely Viennese Wittgenstein family, sister of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and the pianist Paul Wittgenstein. Although a US citizen, Stonborough served in the Canadian army during the Second World War as an intelligence officer and interpreter. He married the daughter of a distinguished Northumberland family, Veronica Morrison-Bell (daughter of Sir Claude William Hedley Morrison-Bell, 2nd Baronet), and after the war lived between Britain and Austria, dying in Dorset. (1) £100 - £150
Lot 49 Each lot is subject to a Buyer’s Premium of 20% (Lots marked * 24% inclusive of VAT @ 20%)
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