Les Munro, the last living Dambuster, has withdrawn his medals from auction after a generous donation.
He had consigned them at Dix Noonan Webb, with the proceeds intended to be used in the upkeep of the new Bomber Command memorial in London's Green Park.
 Les Munro is the sole surviving member of the Dambuster raids |
They would have crossed the block yesterday, with a £50,000 ($76,710) estimate.
However at the last minute the philanthropist Lord Ashcroft offered to donate £75,000 ($111,613) to the RAF Benevolent Fund.
He asked that Kiwi Munro instead give the medals to the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland, New Zealand.
Munro commented: "I am content that I have achieved my goal of doing all I can to ensure that the men of Bomber Command who lost their lives during the Second World War will be remembered with pride for generations to come.
"I have been astonished and very touched by the huge interest that the sale of my medals to raise funds for the upkeep of the memorial has aroused.
"In the end, in consultation with my agents Dix Noonan Webb, I have decided that there was a delicate balance to be achieved between raising funds for the RAF Benevolent Fund and ensuring that my medals are preserved for future generations of New Zealanders to appreciate."
The Dambusters hit three dams in central Germany with a "bouncing bomb". The feat, which required enormous technical ability, is considered one of the greatest moments in RAF history.
A pair of medals awarded to flight lieutenant Richard Dacre Trevor-Roper, rear gunner during the assault on the Mohne dam, sold for £148,000 ($220,249) at Charterhouse on March 20.
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