Dambuster pilot John ‘Hoppy’ Hopgood's medal sell for £25,500 to help pay for a new dam in Africa

Proceeds from the sale of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar 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.

The medal was estimated to raise between £30,000 and £40,000 at specialist auctioneers Morton & Eden in London. Although it was unsold in the saleroom, it was bought immediately afterwards by an anonymous buyer.

Speaking after the auction, John Hopgood’s youngest sister, Betty Bell, who travelled to the sale from Wareham, said: “I vividly recall being at Buckingham Palace and witnessing John receiving his medal from the king in 1942. We were all so proud.

“It has been an agonising decision to part with John’s medal, but we are delighted with the outcome.”

The 92-year-old added: “John gave his life for humanity. He never wanted to kill and fight. He wanted to help the world and had a great sense of justice. He would totally approve that the proceeds of the sale from his medal will enable WaterAid to build a life-saving dam.”

Earlier this year, Betty’s daughter Jenny Elms, from Wareham, released a book chronicling the exploits of the RAF pilot.

The book ‘M-Mother: Dambuster Flight Lieutenant John ‘Hoppy’ Hopgood’, was based on her uncle’s letters home and his flight log books.

Flt Lt Hopgood was second in command of the legendary Second World War 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 Flt Lt Hopgood was killed, aged 21.

Barbara Frost, chief executive of WaterAid said: “On behalf of WaterAid, I’d like to thank the family of Flt Lt John Hopgood for choosing to pay tribute to him by supporting our life-saving work.

“The £25,500 raised from the sale of his well-deserved medals will help transform lives for thousands of people in Uganda, where one in five has no access to clean water and 85 per cent of the population lack access to adequate sanitation. We are extremely grateful for this generous gift.”

David Kirk of Morton & Eden said it had been “an honour to assist with the sale of this historic DFC and Bar.”