Medals awarded to two Scottish bothers both killed within 18 months of each other in WWI, could make four figures at auction this next week <may 27>.
WWI brought the cruellest of losses for Danish-born Hans Ernst and his wife Margaret – the deaths of both of their sons on the battlefields of France and Flanders.
Now, a century on from the Battle of the Somme, their medals are expected to sell for £800-£1,200 at Hansons Auctioneers’ militaria sale in Derby on May 27.
They are poignantly accompanied by two bronze memorial plaques – known as the “Dead Man’s Penny” – sent to the grieving next of kin of soldiers killed in the Great War.
The medals were awarded to brothers Sergeant Hans Ernst DCM and Private Carl Ernst, both from Leith, of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders.
The younger brother, Private Carl Ernst, was killed in April 1915, aged just 20, while serving in the trenches around Sanctuary Wood in the Ypres Salient.
He later died of wounds at No.13 Stationary Hospital and was buried at Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.
His older brother Hans Ernst fought on – rising to the rank of sergeant and even being awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) – one of the highest awards for gallantry – during an assault on Martinpuich, part of Battle of the Somme, in 1916.
Tragically, only weeks after winning the decoration, Sergeant Ernst was himself killed on October 1916, aged 27, during operations near Lens.
He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.
Included is the Buckingham Palace condolence slip bearing the facsimile signature of King George V.
Hansons Auctioneers’ military expert Matt Crowson said: “These medals form an extraordinarily poignant record of one family’s sacrifice during the Great War – two brothers in arms who marched to war together, with neither returning home.
“To lose one child must have been unbearable but to see both of your sons die in conflict really was the ultimate sacrifice.”
The medals were consigned for sale along with a British War medal awarded to Olaf Johnson of the Royal Field Artillery, although mystery surrounds how the brothers’ medals came into his possession.
Matt Crowson said: “Both the names suggest a Scandinavian heritage, so there could be a link there, but other than that it remains a mystery.”
Auction Details
Auction: The Hansons Medals, Militaria & Firearms Auction
Auction date: 27th May 2026 | 10am
Location: Hansons’ Derbyshire Saleroom
Auction contact: [email protected]
Catalogue/bidding: www.hansonslive.co.uk | www.the-saleroom.com
