It felt a little like Christmas when RCA Museum director Andrew Oakden finally held the FedEx package containing Gen Thomas Strange’s two medals purchased during an auction held in spring 2019.

He waited more than 48 hours before he finally lifted the package from the table, and tore at the envelope. Examining the contents, a bubble wrapped package slipped from amongst package backing and a book written by Gen Strange. Asking for a pair of scissors, he was provided with a Swiss Army knife to cut through the protective bubble wrap.

“Don’t cut the medals,” someone offered from the group of 1RCHA soldiers who dropped by the museum to see Gen Strange’s medals which Oakden spent more than $50,000 — 24,000 pounds plus the 20 per cent auction premium — to buy from Spink Auction House in the UK.

“They had six hundred lots on the first day [of the auction],” recalled a beaming Oakden after freeing the medals, both contained in plastic coverings not unlike one would use for prized hockey cards or comic books.

“They started at one and went to lot 600, each completed consecutively. The general’s medals were lot 501. I waited until lot 501 to bid live. This lot came up at 10:15 a.m., and ended about a minute later. The auction started 3 a.m. our time … 9 a.m. in London.”

Prior to the auction commencing, Oakden did have an online, pre-auction bid placed of 2,000 pounds.

How did Oakden learn of a Gen Strange relative putting the medals up for auction?

“One of [Spink’s] representatives contacted us in January regarding the potential sale,” he said. “They likely saw him listed on our website as a Great Gunner and thought we would be interested. That was true. A sizeable family collection of Strange medals were up for auction, including his son Harry Strange’s medals. We were not successful with the bidding on his son’s medals.”

With the auction held overseas in London, Oakden acknowledged the auction house said there was a lot of interest in the general’s medals. There were about 1,200 different lots for sale, mostly military medals.

“There was one Victoria Cross for sale that sold for 19,000 pounds,” he said.

With bidding on Gen Strange’s medals starting at 2,000 pounds, Oakden was on the phone, but also following the proceedings via Internet. With someone bidding 23,000 pounds, that’s when Oakden made his offer of 25,000 and won the bid.

Besides supply and demand acting as a means for driving up the price on military medals, Oakden acknowledged it’s very difficult to put a price on medals.

“His medals themselves are two campaign medals,” he said, adding Gen Strange had VCs, valour medals or high honours to his name.

The two medals now awaiting to be put on display at the RCA Museum include the Indian Mutiny medal and a Northwest Rebellion medal.

“If not a connection to Gen Strange the medals may have been worth a thousand dollars,” he said. “However, these were Gen Strange’s medals, which make them invaluable to us.”

The RCA Senate raised the funds for this purchase, with Colonel Commandant BGen (Ret’d) J.J. Selbie leading the fundraising drive.

“We did try to acquire a moveable cultural properties grant to assist with the purchase, but we had difficulty proving the value of the medals,” said Oakden, adding, “they are unique and difficult to value.”

Because the auction features military paraphernalia, and the prestige or historical value to some medals over others, Oakden said there likely were many large collectors involved besides the RCA Museum.

“It’s possible we were bidding against other museums or Canadian Gunners who wanted to own them.”

To think Oakden’s full involvement in obtaining Gen Strange’s medals took between 60 and 90 seconds, lot 501 had plenty of interest from bidders because of the “popularity” of the medal set, even if it was just two.

Besides owning the two medals now, the RCA Museum also owns a published biography about Gen Strange titled Jingo The Buckskin Brigadier Who Opened Up the Canadian West by author James B. Lamb.

Meanwhile, the RCA Senate passed a motion to make LCol Norman Bruce Buchanan, MC with two Bars, ED a new Great Gunner. His name was recently added to the Great Gunner list, which is a first for a long time.

Happy he had success in purchasing Gen Strange’s campaign medals, Oakden conceded the RCA Museum and Royal Regiment are thrilled to have them at the Home Station of the artillery, not lost to a private collector, with the potential for loaning them out in the future to other museums in Canada.