AN ELEVENTH hour court injunction has halted the sale of a private collection of military memorabilia belonging to Lord Raglan which was due to be sold off at a London auction house yesterday (April 4).

Legal action was successfully obtained by a family member of Fitzroy Somerset - the fifth Baron Raglan who died at the age of 82 in 2010.

Labour peer Lord Raglan, who was well known locally, died without any heirs of his own and is understood to have changed his will six months before he died, bequeathing his estate to his nephew Henry van Moyland, a Los Angeles-based recruitment consultant, despite a local understanding that the estate would go to his nephew, Arthur Somerset, son of his younger brother, Geoffrey, who has since become the sixth Lord Raglan.

The legal challenge centres around the collection of hundreds of artefacts relating to the First Baron Raglan, who commanded British troops in the Crimean War and was responsible for the Charge of the Light Brigade and who was also right-hand man to the Duke of Wellington for almost 40 years during such campaigns as the Peninsular War and the Battle of Waterloo.

Cefntilla Court in Llandenny, the family's home that was presented to the son of the first Lord Raglan in recognition of his father's achievements as a soldier following a public subscription, is also up for sale with a guide price of £2 million.

Raglan Rescue, a group formed to prevent the military collection from being split up and sold around the world, has welcomed the court injunction saying it gives them a chance to talk to various organisations and to plan their campaign.

The driving force behind the group is Bettina Harden, who is also on the National Trust Advisory Board for Wales. She said that the collection had not been viewed by the public for many years and that its intended sale had now heightened its importance.

"We need to sit down as if this were a military campaign with all interested organisations who want the collection to remain intact and for it to stay in Britain as part of our British heritage," she said.

"In a perfect world we would like the collection to remain where it is and be on display at Cefntilla Court, a building we would ideally like to stay with the Somerset family or the National Trust.

"It would be such a tragedy for the collection to be sold, as I know much of it would go to foreign buyers.

"The next two months will be a busy time for us as we liaise with museums and heritage bodies to work out our plan of action."

It is known that a campaign has been mounted by The Seringapatam Times to return an Indian gold ring valued at up to £15,000 (which was worn by Major General Lord Fitzroy Somerset KCB. ) to its origins.

Motoring enthusiast Lord Raglan also loved the history of Llandenny and the Usk area in which his ancestral home is situated. He was the founding chairman of Usk Civic Society, a role which he maintained for almost 40 years until his death. His last donation paid for a new window to be installed at the Usk Rural Life museum.

The society's chairman and treasurer Ann and Barry Morse (pictured) said that splitting up the military collection was not what Lord Raglan would have wanted.

"We fully support the campaign being run by the Raglan Rescue group.

"The collection is part of our heritage and the speed at which the 300 items were being sold at auction is just amazing. Heritage bodies and the Raglan Rescue group had less than six weeks to mount a campaign from the sale being announced to the auction date.

"Tredegar House in Newport, which is now owned by the National Trust, already has Crimean War connections and could house the collection if Cefntilla Court was sold on the open market.

Monmouth Assembly Member, Nick Ramsay, welcomed the court injunction to delaying selling the collection at auction.

He said, " I was very concerned that The Raglan Collection of important artefacts might have been sold to buyers outside Wales and the UK and lost to us forever.

"This reprieve will hopefully provide time for local interested parties to raise funds to safeguard the collection.

"As a resident of the area myself, I'm pleased about the efforts of groups such as the local Raglan Rescue campaigners, and hope they will be successful in saving this collection which is such an important part of our history."

A spokesman for Christie's auction house confirmed that the auction "has now been postponed pending resolution of a legal claim filed by a family member."

Jonathan Stephens, Lord Raglan's executor and lawyer was unavailable for comment.