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Property from the Zaricor Flag Collection: The 20th Century
Lot 221
AN HQ PENNANT OF THE WWII-ERA BRITISH AIRBORNE DIVISION FROM THE ESTATE OF U.S. ARMY GENERAL MATTHEW RIDGEWAY. A red wool swallowtail pennant with white canvas hoist featuring an outline of the winged horse Pegasus and rider to obverse,
21 November 2023, 10:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$7,040 inc. premium
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AN HQ PENNANT OF THE WWII-ERA BRITISH AIRBORNE DIVISION FROM THE ESTATE OF U.S. ARMY GENERAL MATTHEW RIDGEWAY.
A red wool swallowtail pennant with white canvas hoist featuring an outline of the winged horse Pegasus and rider to obverse, 35 x 23 inches, framed to 29 x 42 inches, some toning but generally good.
Provenance: United Kingdom, 6th Airborne Division, 1945; gifted to Lt. General Matthew Ridgway, 1945; retained as a memento of service; by descent; sold Dargate Auction Galleries, Pittsburgh, PA to Chris Donaghue Books, San Francisco, CA, agent for Zaricor Flag Collection, 1997.
Exhibition History: University of California - Santa Cruz Board of Councilors Meeting, Rare Flags Exhibit, Santa Cruz, CA,7 June 2012.
The British Army's 6th Airborne Division was one of two British airborne divisions during WWII and was responsible for securing the left flank of the Allied invasion during Operation Overlord (D-Day). Their insignia features the mythical figure of Bellerophon, the slayer of monsters, raising his sword astride the winged horse Pegasus, making him the first airborne warrior. This pennant would have been displayed outside the 6th Airborne's divisional commander headquarters to identify it as such. During the Second World War both Major General Roy Urquhart (commander of the 1st Airborne) and Major General Richard Nelson Gale (commander of the 6th Airborne) were photographed with very similar pennants. This pennant is associated with the 6th, however, because the 6th was under Ridgeway's command for Operation Varsity and because we know he visited them on Thanksgiving in 1944.
This particular pennant was acquired by the ZFC from the estate of U.S. General Matthew Ridgway, the first commanding general of the 82nd "All American" Airborne Division and later Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. According to the Pegasus Archive in the UK: "The fact that it ended up in General Ridgway's possession suggests that it was presumably presented to him as a gift some time during the crossing of the Rhine and the advance into Germany in 1945. The Division was under the command of Ridgway's XVIII Airborne Corps for the Rhine Crossing operation and remained so until the 28th March, and again from the 1st to at least the 7th, possibly 10th May" (letter to Zaricor collection).
A wonderful WWII rarity with terrific association between US and UK airborne divisions.
Provenance: United Kingdom, 6th Airborne Division, 1945; gifted to Lt. General Matthew Ridgway, 1945; retained as a memento of service; by descent; sold Dargate Auction Galleries, Pittsburgh, PA to Chris Donaghue Books, San Francisco, CA, agent for Zaricor Flag Collection, 1997.
Exhibition History: University of California - Santa Cruz Board of Councilors Meeting, Rare Flags Exhibit, Santa Cruz, CA,7 June 2012.
The British Army's 6th Airborne Division was one of two British airborne divisions during WWII and was responsible for securing the left flank of the Allied invasion during Operation Overlord (D-Day). Their insignia features the mythical figure of Bellerophon, the slayer of monsters, raising his sword astride the winged horse Pegasus, making him the first airborne warrior. This pennant would have been displayed outside the 6th Airborne's divisional commander headquarters to identify it as such. During the Second World War both Major General Roy Urquhart (commander of the 1st Airborne) and Major General Richard Nelson Gale (commander of the 6th Airborne) were photographed with very similar pennants. This pennant is associated with the 6th, however, because the 6th was under Ridgeway's command for Operation Varsity and because we know he visited them on Thanksgiving in 1944.
This particular pennant was acquired by the ZFC from the estate of U.S. General Matthew Ridgway, the first commanding general of the 82nd "All American" Airborne Division and later Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. According to the Pegasus Archive in the UK: "The fact that it ended up in General Ridgway's possession suggests that it was presumably presented to him as a gift some time during the crossing of the Rhine and the advance into Germany in 1945. The Division was under the command of Ridgway's XVIII Airborne Corps for the Rhine Crossing operation and remained so until the 28th March, and again from the 1st to at least the 7th, possibly 10th May" (letter to Zaricor collection).
A wonderful WWII rarity with terrific association between US and UK airborne divisions.