In total, the sale raised over £120,000 (approximately US$230,000), with the ten paintings alone fetching £55,000 (US$107,000).

The sale consisted of items left by Syd in his Cambridge house, which itself recently sold for £300,000. Syd spent his last years living a quiet, yet content, life in the town. Both of his bikes, which he had used every day for visits to the local shops and pub, were hand painted by him and were included in the sale, raising over £10,000.

Syd's family stated that part of the monies raised from the auction of his final belongings would be used for educational development within the art world.

Syd trained at Camberwell Art School in London where his talents as an artist were developed. He always considered himself more an artist than a musician and the family wanted him to be remembered in the future not only as a talented musician but also as someone whose love of art was with him most strongly in his final days.

Whilst the artwork met with the expectations of some, in terms of final selling price, some of the more unusual items in the sale also met with a lot of interest and some intense bidding. With a packed saleroom, the atmosphere at times could be cut with a knife!

His leather armchair, with a faded and worn section where his head rested, was sold for £1,100. An artificial, decorated Christmas tree raised £800, and his homemade breadbin, which he used to store his clothes pegs, went for £1,400.

A pair of A5 sized notebooks went for £1,300 to a buyer who had flown over especially for the sale, from Ohio, USA. This was a snip compared to his collection of art books, which reached an impressive £4,000.

It was the paintings though that were most sought after. "Still Life With Lemons", possibly his last signed painting to exist, had a mass of bids, and ended at £9,500. "Still Life Of Dried Flowers" from Syd's days at Camberwell made £8,500. The other pieces of art attracted similar interest.

Many of the items appeared to be bought by fans and collectors, each after an item with a link to a man who made such a big impression on their lives.

Our thanks to Lisa at Cheffins for her continued help.