text: Richard Attenborough's possessions will be sold . They are mementoes of a brilliant career in movies, stretching from the tunnels of The Great Escape to the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park and Gandhi’s vast crowd scenes. Richard Attenborough was present – behind or in front of the camera – at some of the most magical moments in cinema history, and following his death aged 90 last year, the actor-director’s treasured possessions are going up for up sale at auction house Bonhams. Lord Attenborough’s son Michael, himself an acclaimed theatre director, said: ‘The items reflect my father’s incredible career. 'It is simply not possible to keep it all, even though we would absolutely love to. We do not have the room for it.’ Lord Attenborough made his big-screen debut in the 1942 film In Which We Serve, and was still acting more than five decades later when he appeared as eccentric boffin John Hammond in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. He was an avid collector and the lots include a treasure trove of unseen photographs, iconic props, scripts, posters and sketches. Many of the lots relate to his time in front of the camera and include mementoes from such career-defining films as Brighton Rock, The Great Escape and 10 Rillington Place. The Great Escape: This photo of Richard Attenborough (front) and Steve McQueen is expected to sell for £700 . One of the most prized items is the cane (left) used by Hammond in Jurassic Park, which is estimated to sell for £5,000. The rare poster (right) is among the items for sale advertising Brighton Rock under the film’s original title . The actor was nearly 70 when he appeared in Jurassic Park – lured by the prospect of working with Steven Spielberg . One of the most prized items is the cane used by Hammond in Jurassic Park. The top contains a prehistoric mosquito preserved in amber, from which the DNA used to create the dinosaurs in the park was extracted. A clapperboard from the film Gandhi is up for sale . The exhibition will also remind fans that there was a time when Britain’s brightest star struggled to find work. One of the lots is an early CV written by Lord Attenborough when he was an ambitious student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. The student carefully noted all the stage roles he had notched up while at RADA. Equally well known for his work behind the camera, Lord Attenborough directed such classics as Gandhi, Shadowlands and Cry Freedom. His personal script for the Oscar-winning masterpiece Gandhi, which includes all of his annotations, is expected to fetch in the region of £3,000. Michael Attenborough said there were some items the family couldn’t part with, even if they wanted to. ‘We are not allowed to sell his Oscars and Baftas for legal reasons, and to be honest we wouldn’t want to,’ he said. ‘They have been distributed along the family and are now being looked after by the grandchildren.’ Michael Attenborough suggested Ben Kingsley (right) for the role of Gandhi – a decision his father never regretted . His role as the psychotic Pinkie in 1947’s Brighton Rock made Attenborough a box-office star. he is pictured here relaxing with young fans between scenes . Lord Attenborough was an avid collector of 20th Century British paintings and the sale features many works that hung in his homes in London and Scotland. These include a fine oil painting by Alan Lowndes which is expected to fetch £15,000, and a caricature of Oscar Wilde by Max Beerbohm which has a guide price of £7,000. The auction, entitled Richard Attenborough: A Life Both Sides Of The Camera, will take place at Bonhams on October 21. Lord Attenborough’s prized Rolls-Royce Corniche with its distinctive number plate, RA III, will be sold separately at a Bonhams sale at the Beaulieu National Motor Museum on September 5. It is estimated to fetch between £12,000 and £15,000. After Eric Morecambe’s, they were the best-known spectacles in British entertainment, and an intrinsic part of the avuncular luvvie image of the man known to everyone in showbiz as Dickie . *Large set of photos .
target: Richard Attenborough's treasured possessions will go under the hammer .
  Actor-director died aged 90 last year and his items will be sold at Bonhams .
  His son, Richard, says it wouldn't be possible to keep all of the belongings .