article_snippet: Squadron Leader Les Munro, 95, had planned to auction Lord Ashcroft decorations to pay towards the maintenance of the monument in Green Park, central London.
article_snippet: War hero: Les Munro had planned to auction his decorations to pay towards the monument's maintenance .
article_snippet: ‘I have been astonished and very touched by the huge interest that the sale of my medals to raise funds for the memorial's upkeep has aroused.
article_snippet: 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.
article_snippet: Mr Munro’s original decision to sell Mr Munro’s decorations for an estimated £50,000 sparked a row in Mr Munro’s native New Zealand, where the government wrongly claimed the medals were protected objects.
article_snippet: In 2013 Les Munro visited the monument - which had been unveilved a year earlier - and afterwards said Les Munro was inspired to sell Les Munro medals in order to pay for a year’s maintenance of the memorial to keep it in pristine condition .
article_snippet: But the medals, log books and other associated memorabilia will now be donated to the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland.
highlights_snippet: Les Munro, 95, had planned to auction Les Munro medals to fund maintenance .
  
highlights_snippet: In return Les Munro will gift decorations and medals to museum in New Zealand .
  