Widow to auction Falklands War hero Baz Grayling’s medals for up to £70,000

The widow of a Falklands War hero is putting her husband’s bravery medals up for auction, seeking as much as £70,000 to secure financial security after his death. Noonans, the Mayfair auction house handling the sale, said the medal group belonging to Corporal Barry “Baz” Grayling, including the Military Medal and accompanying South Atlantic 1982 and General Service with a clasp for Northern Ireland, will be offered on October 8. Grayling, who led a critical assault during the Battle of Goose Green, died in December 2023 at the age of 60. His American wife of more than 30 years has chosen to part with the medals at his widow’s request, although she acknowledged the emotional difficulty of the decision.

Sheryl Grayling, speaking for the family, described how her husband urged her to consider the sale to provide future financial security. “He tried to talk to me about selling the medals when he was sick, and I wouldn’t hear it,” she said. “So he told Shelly, my daughter, to make me do it so that I would have some financial security.” The couple had built a long life together after Barry’s retirement from the Parachute Regiment, including years in the United States, where they contributed to the community and supported education through a local scholarship fund in his name.

The story of Grayling’s wartime feat centers on the Battle of Goose Green, a defining moment in the Falklands War. A 19-year-old private, Grayling joined 11 Platoon, D Company, 2 Para, as part of the force sent to retake the islands after Argentine invasion. The task force landed at Blue Beach, San Carlos Water, in late May 1982, establishing the foothold for a broader push toward Goose Green. The operation, code-named Corporate, sought to neutralize a garrison that could threaten British landings and linked airfield access with the encircling march toward Stanley. As the night assault crept forward, Grayling’s unit moved to Coronation Point ahead of the main advance, preparing to tackle a pair of enemy machine gun posts that blocked the right flank.

The joint action that followed, described in the official citation that accompanied Grayling’s Military Medal, unfolded under intense fire. Moving within ten metres of the enemy after advancing from their hidden position, Grayling and Lance Corporal Garry “Gaz” Bingley pressed forward with suppressive fire. The two soldiers then assaulted a machine gun position, destroying it at close range in a moment described as a display of “total disregard for their own safety.” Bingley was killed in the engagement, while Grayling pressed the attack and helped clear the way for his company’s continued advance. The citation notes that, despite grave danger, Grayling’s actions and bearing were of a very high order and that his bravery directly contributed to the company’s ability to press on toward Goose Green’s airfield and its surrounding objectives.

The Goose Green offensive occurred during a week in which Argentine bombers had already dealt a heavy blow to the Royal Navy and 2 Para faced the prospect of stiff resistance during consolidation of the landings. The fighting culminated in an Argentine surrender 17 days later, by which time British forces had taken 961 Argentine prisoners and inflicted significant casualties on their own side—sixteen British personnel killed and 64 wounded, with approximately 50 Argentines killed and 112 wounded in the broader engagement. The victory, achieved while British troops were outnumbered two to one, helped set the stage for subsequent operations that ultimately led to the Argentine surrender of the Falkland Islands on June 14, 1982. Grayling’s later recollections spoke to the endurance of the company as it pushed toward the airfield and the relief that came with steady progress after such a costly early phase of the operation.

After Goose Green, Grayling returned briefly to Britain before continuing service in Belize and Northern Ireland. His career also included postings to the United States, Cyprus and Canada. In later years, he and Sheryl settled in the United States, where he taught and coached at Pasco High School in Tampa, Florida. The school has established a scholarship in his name to honor his dedication to education and mentoring young people. His wife described a life built on service and steadiness: “Barry bought me that car a month after we met because my car broke down; and he sent me payments like clockwork every month. He also wrote me a letter every single day for two years until he got out of the military and came to see us every three months for three weeks on leave.”

The auction price reflects the enduring importance of Grayling’s wartime actions as well as the enduring public interest in the Falklands War’s legacy. Noonans’ head of client liaison, Christopher Mellor-Hill, recalled Grayling’s night-time assault on Goose Green’s bunkers as among the war’s most significant moments. “In the dark of night in late May 1982, Baz Grayling was a true hero during their night attack on the enemy bunkers at Goose Green, one of the most important assaults during the Falklands War,” Mellor-Hill said. “Although Grayling and Bingley thought they could suppress the enemy fire, they found themselves just 10 metres from them. With a total disregard for their own safety, they immediately attacked and destroyed the enemy machine gun position.”

The medal group’s sale is scheduled for October 8, with an estimated range of £50,000 to £70,000. Noonans emphasized the rarity and historical significance of the lot, noting that the Military Medal was awarded for Grayling’s “heroic action with a total disregard for his own safety.” The decision to auction the medals appears to be a difficult personal one for Grayling’s family, who described a life shaped by duty, partnership, and the memory of friends who did not survive the fight. The sale will offer a chance to preserve the legacy of a soldier whose actions helped to change the battlefield dynamics at Goose Green and contributed to the broader narrative of the Falklands War.

As the family moves forward, the story of Baz Grayling remains a stark reminder of the personal costs of war and the ways in which communities seek to honor and remember those who served. The medals, which symbolize acts of courage under fire, will now circulate in a public arena where historians, veterans and collectors may study and reflect on a chapter of recent history that continues to shape how the Falklands War is understood and remembered.