THE Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar awarded to heroic Dambusters pilot John 'Hoppy' Hopgood will be auctioned off next month to help pay for a new dam in Africa.

Proceeds from the medal's sale, estimated between £30,000-£40,000, are being donated to the charity WaterAid by Flight Lieutenant Hopgood's family.

This money will be used specifically to contribute towards a project in Uganda, which includes the building of a sand dam to enable more than 95,000 people to access safe, clean water.

Earlier this year Purbeck author Jenny Elms released a book chronicling the exploits of her uncle John Vere Hopgood.

The RAF pilot was second in command of the legendary World War Two raid carried out over Germany in May 1943.

During that daring operation his Lancaster bomber - call sign M-Mother - was hit by flak. Despite being wounded, with his aircraft ablaze, he managed to gain enough height to enable two crew members to parachute to safety.

The plane crashed moments later and John 'Hoppy' Hopgood was killed, aged 21.

Jenny, from Wareham, who called her book M-Mother: Dambuster Flight Lieutenant John 'Hoppy' Hopgood, based her work on her uncle's letters home and his flight log books.

She said: "My mother who is 92 and lives in Wareham was his younger sister. She has always said he worried as a teenager about what he would do if there was a war, because he didn't like the idea of killing.

"He was a very idealistic man, thrown into war and just trying to do what was right for the country. We just feel this is a very fitting tribute.

"My mum, his sister, is definitely of the opinion he would have liked something worthwhile for humanity coming from the sale of his medals."

Thomas Benn of WaterAid said: "We are delighted the family of Flt. Lt. John Hopgood will pay tribute to him through our lifesaving work.

"This fantastic gift will help secure a better future for thousands of people in Uganda, where one in five lacks access to clean water and 85 per cent of the population has nowhere to go to the toilet."

Meanwhile, David Kirk of auctioneers Morton & Eden - who will be handling the medal sale on December 15 - said the new dam will form a "fitting memorial to Hopgood's heroism and self-sacrifice on the Dambusters mission."

The Dambusters' 617 Squadron successfully broke two large dams in Germany using experimental 'bouncing bombs' during Operation Chastise on May 16 & 17, 1943.