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RAF fighter pilot hero’s gun for sale at Bonhams auctioneers

A gun owned by Norwegian fighter pilot hero and tennis ace Jan Staubo will go under the hammer at Bonhams Knightsbridge salesroom of Antique Arms, Armour and Modern Sporting Guns on July 29, estimated at up to £18,000.

The gun is a Purdey 12-bore side ejector with foliate-scroll engraving and the initials ‘JS’ inlaid in gold to the underside and leather-covered recoil pad.

Jan Staubo (1920-2003) was born in Norway, escaping as a teenager immediately after the German invasion in 1940. He trained as a fighter pilot, rising to the rank of Wing Commander at a training camp near Toronto, and later served with a squadron of Spitfires in Britain. He was shot down while taking part in the attack on Dieppe in August 1942 and was held as a prisoner of war until 1945, although he attempted to escape several times.

After the war, he returned to Norway, joining his family’s shipping company and becoming a keen sportsman, going on to win eight national tennis championships and serving as the president of the Norwegian Tennis Association between 1962 and 1964. He succeeded his uncle as the International Olympic Committee’s Norwegian representative in 1966, serving until 2000. He died in 2003, aged 82.

Purdey’s are known as makers of fine shotguns. They also produce rifles, both double-barrelled and bolt-action. The Purdey name is one of the most prestigious of any firearms manufacturer; the guns are custom-made, largely by hand, and are extremely expensive. A new Purdey shotgun would sell from about £66,000.

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