Dambusters medals to stay in NZ thanks to Tory bogeyman
Everyone on the left likes to hate Lord Ashcroft, except yet again he has come to the aid of New Zealand to retain medals won in World War 2.
Les Munro, the last surviving Dambusters pilot, has spoken of his delight at raising more than $160,000 for a memorial dedicated to his fallen World War II mates, while also being able to keep his historic war medals in New Zealand.
Mr Munro, 95, had planned to sell his medals at auction this week in order to make a donation to London’s Bomber Command Memorial for its ongoing upkeep.
There was concern from New Zealand museums, the Government, and the RSA at the possibility of losing such treasured historical objects overseas. But the medals will be kept in the country after Mr Munro accepted a $150,000 donation by British billionaire Lord Michael Ashcroft.
Lord Ashcroft, who owns the world’s largest collection of Victoria Cross medals, will donate the money to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, which looks after the memorial. In return, Mr Munro has agreed to donate his medals, including the Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross, along with logbooks and associated memorabilia, to the Museum of Transport and Technology (Motat) in Auckland. Read more »

As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. When he’s not creating the news, he tends to be in it, with protagonists using the courts, media and social media to deliver financial as well as death threats.
They say that news is something that someone, somewhere, wants kept quiet. Cam Slater doesn’t do quiet and, as a result, he is a polarising, controversial but highly effective journalist who takes no prisoners.
He is fearless in his pursuit of a story.
Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore him.
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