War veteran Les Munro's medals to go to auction in London

WW2 war hero, Les Munro. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

A last effort to keep in New Zealand medals earned by war hero Les Munro appears to have failed.

The medals - including the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Flying Cross - will go under the hammer at London's Dix Noonan Webb this month as Munro planned, and are expected to sell for up to $100,000.

Munro, 95, is the sole survivor of pilots who attacked German dams in World War II, later immortalised in the film The Dam Busters.

He put his medals up for auction to raise money for the upkeep of the Bomber Command Memorial in London that commemorates his comrades who were killed.

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage here had sought expert advice on whether the medals were covered by the Protected Objects Act 1975, which would mean they required approval for export if sold to a non-New Zealand buyer.

That advice confirmed they were not covered by the act.

Several New Zealand museums, including MOTAT, the Auckland War Memorial Museum, the Airforce Museum in Christchurch and the Otago Museum, tried to put together a financial package to secure the medals, but Munro has rejected that.

"They will all have the opportunity of bidding at the auction," he said.

"I made a decision months ago and they are already catalogued for sale. [The medals] are already in possession of the auction house in London."

The auction will be on March 25.