CODED letters written by a British Prisoner of War went under the hammer at Tavistock, this Monday.
The correspondence was found in the attic of a house near Tavistock and was sold by Tavistock auctioneer Robin Fenner.
The coded letters were sent by Captain Geoffrey Stibbard, to his mother, while he was imprisoned in a Nazi PoW camp during the Second World War.
Robin Fenner said the letters were bought by Capt Stibbard's son for £1,900, far exceeding the estimated price of £300-£400.
Around 100 letters, sketches and photographs were auctioned together, along with other wartime memorabilia which belonged to Capt Stibbard, including his uniforms, dress sword and campaign medals. The medals sold to a private buyer for £820, with their price also pushed up by keen interest from collectors. The buyer is now in negotiations with Capt Stibbard's family.
Mr Fenner said the sale had attracted interest from military archivists, museums and collectors from all over the country, after the details had been made available on the internet.
'We were very pleased with the overall outcome of the sale, it was well viewed and well attended,' he said.
Many of the letters contain guarded details about attempted and failed escapes from German prisoner of war camps, and were intended to be passed on to the War Office.
Letters and photographs had been buried in a box alongside sketches and telegrams sent from Capt Stibbard to his mother who was staying in Gloucester.
The box also contained diaries written by the Royal Tank Regiment officer.