Online campaign to keep Les Munro war medals home

Les Munro - the last surviving pilot from the Dambusters raid, pictured at the Bomber Command Memorial, London. Photo/file

Two Give a Little pages are fundraising to keep World War II hero's war medals and memorabilia from falling into the hands of overseas collectors.

The 95-year-old last surviving member of the 617 Dambusters squadron, Les Munro, decided to auction his war medals and log books aiming to raise funding for the upkeep of the Bomber Command Memorial in London's Green Park.

A decision is expected by the end of the week on whether Mr Munro's precious war medals and log books can be prohibited from leaving the country.

The two fundraising pages aim to raise $100,000 and $200,000 in the hopes of creating a "win win" for Mr Munro and for New Zealand.

On the Give a Little website, one of the pages dedicated say, "By helping us to be a serious bidder, we can make sure Les gets the money he needs to support the memorial and his important medals collection remains in New Zealand,"

The other page dedicated to keeping the medals at home says all money donated, successful or not, will go to the RAF Benevolent Fund.

Mr Munro medals that are up for auction include the Distinguished Services Order, Distinguished Flying Cross, Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit and the Queen's Service Order.

The medals are expected to sell for about $100,000 at auction in London on March 25.