Lord Ashcroft will donate $150,000 towards the upkeep of the Bomber Command Memorial in London in exchange for Mr Munro agreeing to withdraw his medals from the auction and gifting them to Motat.
London auction house Dix Noonan Webb entered into the spirit of the occasion and waived its withdrawal fees and out-of-pocket expenses provided Motat donated 10,000 ($19,500) to the endowment fund set up to maintain the memorial.
Mount Maunganui RSA general manager Peter Moss said it was a wonderful outcome.
"Les and everyone involved will be relieved," he said. "There was always the threat that these national treasures would never be seen again in New Zealand."
Motat chief executive Michael Frawley confirmed the museum had offered to cover the auctioneer's fees and expenses and would be honoured to accept Mr Munro's medals and logbooks into its collection.
Lord Ashcroft, who was "delighted" with Mr Munro's acceptance of the win-win proposal, will collect the medals and memorabilia from the auctioneers and fly them back to New Zealand where they will be delivered to Mr Munro, who will present them to Motat.
The museum has pledged to develop an exhibition to commemorate the contribution made by Mr Munro and his New Zealand comrades in Bomber Command.
Mr Frawley also announced he was working with Perpetual Guardian managing director Andrew Barnes who has established the New Zealand Bomber Command Fund. The Perpetual Guardian Foundation has kick-started the fund with a donation of $30,000 to help preserve the legacy of Bomber Command in New Zealand.
The fund, open to donations from all Kiwis, will support a dedicated pavilion at Motat and a series of road shows to highlight the stories and courage of the New Zealand airmen.
Mr Munro's original decision to auction the medals to help fund the memorial's maintenance generated so much publicity in England that a lot of additional money had been raised. "It's generated a tremendous amount of interest in England," he said.
The last surviving pilot of the epic Dambusters bombing raid said a lot of people were surprised to learn that the British Government was not contributing to the care of the Bomber Command memorial.
He said 85,000 ($166,000) was a really good result and at least 15,000 ($29,000) more than he expected to raise.
It was never his intention for the sale proceeds to be whittled away maintaining the memorial - the objective was always for the money to be deposited into an endowment fund, with the interest paying for maintenance.
