Stick used to beat explorer to death sells at auction

A WALKING stick used to bludgeon its spy owner to death more than 100 years ago has been sold to a collector at auction.

The intricately carved stick once belonged to William Gill, a British spy and multi-millionaire explorer. But in 1883 it was used by Bedouin tribesmen to murder him in the Sinai desert.

The 39-year-old adventurer was gathering intelligence for the British Government at the time of his death, but no-one knows exactly why he was killed.

At an auction in Edinburgh yesterday, the walking stick was bought by a private buyer for 550.

Gill inherited millions and used his fortune to fund his explorations, while at the same time gathering information for his country. He visited Persia, China, Tibet, India, the Balkans, Turkey and North Africa, keeping detailed diaries of his adventures which he sent to his mother.