First World War medals won by two Albion legends and a battlefield matron have been auctioned for £1,000 more than expected.

Campaign medals belonging to goalkeeper Robert "Pom-Pom" Whiting, fellow footballer Jasper "Ginger" Batey and Matron Jane Child were expected to sell for a total of £4,400.

Auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb expected to make £800 for Whiting's medal, £600 for Batey's and £3,000 for Matron Child's.

However, while bidders matched the expected Batey price, Whiting's 1914-15 Star, British War and Victory medals sold for £1,300.

Matron Child, born in Brighton in 1864, won eight medals for nursing service in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897-98, the defence of Kimberley during the Boer War and a trek through the Kalahari with a tent hospital during the First World War.

Her medals, which include the Order of St John of Jerusalem, fetched £3,500, bringing the total to £5,400.

Whiting, a 12-stone six-footer, was described as "one of the finest keepers to stand guard for the Albion" and made 320 appearances for the club before the war.

He was living in Coleridge Street, Hove, when he enlisted in the Middlesex Regiment in January 1915 and travelled to France.

He died on the battlefield at Vimy Ridge on April 28, 1917, and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in France and on Hove's war memorial.

Batey was killed in action in France in 1916.

Michael Sharp, who works for Dix Noonan Webb, was especially interested in the auction.

He is the grandson of Alfred Henry Sharp, the first Brightonian to sign professional forms for a Brighton club.

He signed for Brighton United in 1899, played for Albion in their first Southern League match - a 2-0 win against Shepherd's Bush in September 1901 - and then joined Brighton Athletic.

The naming of campaign medals ended during the Second World War, reducing the value of many because they did not give clues to the winner's personal history.

Mr Sharp, from Portslade, said: "Many medals are worth no more than £30 but if they're named you can research their history more and if they're linked to someone of note the interest greatly increases. Pom-Pom Whiting's medals have attracted a lot of interest.

"He's a legendary figure. I remember my dad talking about seeing him play. The company was very interested in the fact he played for Chelsea but he's an Albion legend too. As soon as I heard someone say the words 'Pom-Pom' I knew it was him."