A MARVELLOUS collection of medals belonging to a famed RAF fighter pilot and UK diplomat are going up at auction.

The group of medals awarded to Sir Albert Thomas “Archie” Lamb KBE CMG DFC are included in a September auction of medals, militaria, coins and stamps by Dorset-based auctioneers Charterhouse.

Archie Lamb was born in 1921. He joined the Foreign Office in 1938 and at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 he volunteered for the Royal Air Force. 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.

Commissioned in 1941, he flew combat missions in Typhoons and Hurricanes and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1945.

After the war he returned to the Foreign Office, ending up serving as British Ambassador to Kuwait from 1974-77 and to Norway from 1978-80.

He died in October last year, four days shy of his 100th birthday.

Charterhouse founder 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 1970’s 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.”

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

Visit charterhouse-auction.com for more information.