Desert Rat’s photo album charting unit’s journey from N. Africa to Germany in WWII

Daily Mail UK ^ | 23 April 2018 | Connor Boyd

[Postman Pat]

A Desert Rat's captivating photo album charting the iconic army unit's epic journey from the North African desert to Germany in the Second World War is being auctioned off.

Sergeant Ronald Jenner, of the 7th Armoured Division, fought in North Africa, the Middle East, Italy, France, Holland, Belgium and Germany.

His armoured car was one of the first to enter Tripoli during the North African campaign when the city was captured by the Allies in January 1943.

[Postman Pat]

One of the best photos is the picture of the troops on their armoured car which was the first to enter Tripoli, their pre-war occupations are listed as manager of a tailor's, machinist and plumber.

A different age.

[yawningotter]

The whole lot belongs in The Imperial War Museum of somewhere else where the public can see it.

[warsaw44]

Then the museum can bid on the private property being auctioned and display it as they like.

Do you think items that end up in museums stay there forever?

Museums deaccession items on a regular basis but don’t always make that public knowledge. After all, who would consider donating material if they thought it would one day be sold off.

I’m tired of hearing people claim mountains of antiques and military collectibles in private hands should ‘ be in museums ‘.

Any number of dealers I work with, collectors I have worked with have been told they should not own certain items as they should ‘ belong to the public ‘. What a load of rubbish.

A museum wants it - pay for it. Every historical association who ever came calling ( except one ) in my direction always wanted something for free.

Half the material in museums never gets seen by the public anyway.

- and furthermore half the public if not more don’t give a damn about history anyway.

[Mr Radical]

Thanks for the link

A shame, but maybe only private collectors will preserve it. Unfortunately, The Imperial War Museum in London is busy selling off tons of stuff like this about the second world war. I don’t know why, but I guess because they don’t think it “relevant” to a modern audience - history must be rewritten of course otherwise future generations might realise what they’ve lost.

I wonder what were the odds that a soldier in an armoured car / recce unit would survive all the way from El Alamein to Germany ?

[Ciexyz]

One of our Pittsburgh museums sold off the private coin collections people donated over the years and the donor families were really shocked.

[New Perspective]

I LOVED watching the tv show The Rat Patrol when I was just 4 years old. They released the whole tv series on DVD in 2008.

[T-Bone Texan]

Plus, the War Museum in London is a lefty-controlled outfit now.

They are rabidly and violently anti-war.