The collection of ten autograph and 64 typed letters written by Plum to his friend S.C. "Billy" Griffith between 1932 and 1974 brought the surprising price of £24,000 at Christie's on June 22.

The estimate was £8,000 to £12,000, and Dulwich College had hoped to acquire the material for its archives, as both PGW and Griffith were prominent Old Alleynians. However an unknown bidder took the price to an unexpectedly high level.

The collection, sold by Griffith's son Mike, included a picture of PGW with his foxhound Bill, with an inscription to the older Griffith. The earliest letters were written to Griffith as a Dulwich schoolboy and star cricketer and rugby player for the school, the correspondence maintained with increasing friendship as Griffith went on to win his Cambridge Blue, and joined Sussex CCC in 1937.

He served with distinction in WW2 as a glider pilot, leaving as a Colonel, and then keeping wicket for England in the 1945 Victory Tests against Australia. Griffith played three times for England in full Tests, hitting his first century in first-class cricket in his Test debut in the West Indies in 1947/48. His other Tests were in South Africa in 1948-49. Griffith became secretary of MCC, and later president.

The letters deal largely with personal matters, ranging from Plum's domestic doings to his warm appreciation of Griffith's sporting success, but there are also intriguing references to his writing, and the exhaustive effort involved. The letters have never been published, or made available to any Wodehouse biographer or researcher. Whether they will now be accessible is unclear.

Murray Hedgcock