Medals awarded to a First World War fighter ace from Brighton are expected to be sold for about £35,000 at auction.

Air Commodore Arthur Wray, just 21, was awarded the Military Cross after landing safely despite being badly injured in a dogfight over the Western Front near Arras, northern France, in May 1917.

The medal is one of 13 being sold by his family in London on June 23. Other decorations include a DSO, DFC and Air Force Cross.

David Erskine-Hill, who catalogued the collection for specialist medal auctioneers Dix, Noonan and Webb, said: "He was truly exceptional.

"Everybody who knew him said he was an unforgettable man.

"Such was his zest for flying that he qualified for his gold glider pilot's badge after celebrating his 75th birthday."

Air Commodore Wray, the son of a missionary, was born in Brighton before being sent to Monkton Combe School, Bath.

By 21 he was a fighter pilot in the Royal Flying Corps but on one sortie his aircraft was badly shot up and he received a fractured leg.

The aircraft fell thousands of feet through the air before he regained consciousness and recovered control to land safely.

Doctors later found his kneecap in his flying boot but after ten months in hospital he returned to the front line.

The young officer spent an eventful RAF career and when war broke out again he was in command of a bomber station in Lincolnshire.

Many of his aircrews were inexperienced and he would take them on their first operations over Germany, often without telling his superiors.

The experience gave them confidence and they in turn nicknamed him Father Wray.

Although he walked with a stick he continued to fly with his young men until "grounded" by his superiors.

After the war he farmed in the West Country until he died aged 76 in April 1982.