A GROUP of medals won by war hero Sir Thomas 'Archie' Lamb are included in the Charterhouse September auction of medals, militaria, coins and stamps.

Charterhouse's Richard Bromell said: "They are a fantastic group of medals charting the deeds and travels of Sir Archie from the Second World War through to the late 1970s when he was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 1979.

“With the market for medals, militaria, coins and stamps remaining strong we have already received quite a lot of pre-sale interest in this group.”

Archie was born in 1921 and joined the Foreign Office in 1938 and at the outbreak of the Second World War he volunteered for the RAF.

Called up in 1941, he carried out his pilot training in Rhodesia. However, when he returned to Britain on the SS Oronsay the ship was torpedoed and he spent nine days adrift in a lifeboat before being rescued.

He flew combat missions in Typhoons and Hurricanes and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After the war he returned to the Foreign Office, serving as Ambassador to Kuwait and later Norway.

The medals, along with his sword, RAF wool scarf, silver ashtray and his old diplomatic bag are estimated at £2,500-4,500 in the Charterhouse two-day collectors auction on September 1 and 2.

Richard Bromell and the team at Charterhouse can be contacted for valuations at The Long Street Salerooms, Sherborne 01935 812277 info@charterhouse-auction.com where they are taking further entries for their September specialist auctions of, coins, medals, stamps, clocks and collectors followed by automobilia on September 29 and then classic cars and classic motorcycles in October.