A teddy bear mascot owned by a celebrated Battle of Britain fighter pilot who carried it in his Spitfire cockpit has gone on sale for £10,000 . Flight Lieutenant Stephen Beaumont took his cherished bear with him on every Spitfire and Defiant flight he took to defend Britain from the aerial onslaught from Hitler 's Luftwaffe . The pilot gave his teddy , named Beaumont Bear , a RAF tie and printed the Royal crest , the letters AM for Air Ministry and his nickname 'Bea ' on his chest . Flight Lieutenant Stephen Beaumont took his treasured teddy bear mascot on every flight , pictured together in the cockpit of a Boulton Paul Defiant . Fl Lt Beaumont was one of just seven of the 24 pilots in his squadron who survived the 1940 Second World War battle and believed his beloved teddy bear brought him luck . He was known as one of 'The Few ' , which comes from Winston Churchill 's famous phrase : 'Never , in the field of human conflict , was so much owed by so many to so few . ' When Fl Lt Beaumont died aged 87 in 1997 , his bear - suffering from a little wear and tear - was passed to his family . It is now being tipped to sell for an estimated £10,000 when it goes under the hammer at Bonhams auctioneers on behalf of a private collector . The teddy , named Beaumont Bear ( left ) , is expected to sell for £10,000 when it goes under the hammer at Bonhams . Fl Lt Beaumont 's uniform ( right ) is also up for sale for £2,000 . Tom Lamb , a specialist in military history at Bonhams , said : 'The life of an RAF pilot in the Summer of 1940 was marked by great physical danger and mental strain . 'Of the 3,000 airmen who served in this period , over one sixth were killed in combat . 'Teddy bears became popular mascots and helped to bolster the resolve of men engaged in a conflict where survival seemed a matter of luck as much as of skill . 'This particular bear called Beaumont Bear once belonged to Flight Lieutenant Stephen Beaumont , a 30-year old Spitfire pilot in the Battle of Britain . 'He flew numerous sorties with the bear in his cockpit . 'Flight Lieutenant Beaumont survived the war and died at the age of 87 . His bear has lived on and if it could speak it surely would have some amazing stories of dog fights , sorties and close shaves . 'If it were just a normal bear it would be almost worthless but this one could go . Fl Lt Beaumont was aged 30 when his Squadron Commander , 26-year-old George Darley , removed him from combat duties midway through the Battle of Britain because of his 'advancing age ' . Beaumont , a solicitor before the war , was furious at the time . The Battle of Britain was the German air force 's attempt to gain air superiority over the RAF , pictured is a German Messerschmitt 109 shot down in raids over Ramsgate . He became an instructor , teaching young pilots the skills they would need to fly Spitfires and Hurricanes in dogfights against the Luftwaffe . He quickly rose through the ranks to the Wing Commander before helping plan the aerial assault aspect of the D-Day invasions . In 1945 he Beaumont was honoured for his outstanding contribution to the war effort by being made an OBE . Mr Lamb said : 'The teddy bear followed Beaumont in his new duties as an instructor and flight commander at an Operational Training Unit . 'There he distinguished himself in training Hurricane and Spitfire pilots , before eventually assisting in the preparations for D-Day in the role of Deputy Air Officer Administration . ' After the war Fl Lt Beaumont , who was a solicitor before the war and was educated at Oxford University , returned to his home town of Wakefielfd , West Yorks , and took a string of administrative roles including becoming the city 's deputy coroner . In 1967 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for the West Riding of Yorkshire , and in 1979 High Sheriff of West Yorkshire . He retired to Devizes , Wilts . His teddy is being auctioned on April 29 in New York . Fl Lt Beaumont 's uniform is also up for sale , for £2,000 . The Battle of Britain was one of the turning points of the Second World War and prevented Germany from invading Britain . The Battle of Britain was the German air force 's attempt to gain air superiority over the RAF from July to September 1940 . It was one of the turning points of the Second World War and prevented Germany from invading Britain . The battle began in mid-July with Luftwaffe concentrating on attacking shipping in the English Channel and attacking coastal towns and defences . From 12 August , Hermann Goering , one of the leaders of the Nazi regime , shifted his focus to the destruction of the RAF , attacking airfields and radar bases . ( Pictured above , RAF scrambling to their planes in 1940 . ) Convinced that Fighter Command was now close to defeat , he also tried to force air battles between fighter planes to break British strength . However , Goering grew frustrated by the large number of British planes that were still fighting off his attacks . Luftwaffe switched tactics again and , on Hitler 's orders , set about destroying London and other major cities . Eleven days later , on what became 'Battle of Britain Day ' , the RAF decimated the huge incoming Luftwaffe formations in the skies above London and the south coast .
captain Lieutenant Stephen Beaumont took mount bear on every flight . Treasured mascot was by his side when he died in Battle of Britain in 1940 . He was named mount Bear and has RAF tie and Royal crest on chest . bear expected to sell for £ ##500 when it goes under hammer at Bonhams .