Heroic medals awarded during the First World War to a Burton solider are going under the hammer at a Gloucestershire auction house.

The medals were awarded to Private Frederick Frost, who lived in Horninglow Road North, Burton, and was part of the North Staffordshire Regiment during the First World War.

The medals come with photographs, letters, newspaper cuttings and other memorabilia that create a complete picture of Private Frost's military career. The lot will be sold at antiques auctioneers Moore Allen and Innocent, in Cirencester, on Saturday, August 5.

A copy of a newspaper and a letter detailed Private Frost’s involvement with the assault on the Sambre Canal, in France, in 1918.

A spokesperson from Moore Allen and Innocent auctioneers highlighted the contents of one letter which was found in the collection, explaining that: "We know, from a printed letter issued to soldiers of the 46 division that Private Frost was involved in the assault on the Sambre Canal towards the end of the war.

"German field guns pounded the banks of the canal while machine gunners picked off individual soldiers. Barbed wire hampered their progress.”

A newspaper cutting from the Daily Sketch which describes the assault by British soldiers on the Sambre Canal in France

The letter was written by General Sir Henry Rawlinson, commander of the fourth army, who wrote: "The forcing of the main Hindenburg line on the canal and the capture of Bellenglise, ranks as one of the finest and most dashing exploits of the war.

"The attacks of October 3 and the subsequent operations about Bohain, together with the later advance beyond the Sambre Canal, constitute a record which all ranks of the division may justly feel proud."

The lot, which has been estimated by the house to sell for between £150 and £200, includes various badges, a bullet converted into a pencil, a compass inscribed 'Angle Swiss Association 1915', all held in a Princess Mary gift fund box.

A brass box is also included, which was given to all soldiers and seamen serving during the first Christmas during the war, in 1914. The Christmas set also holds a card from Princess Mary, which is completely intact.

Private Frost was awarded, and the lot up for sale includes the 1914-1918 Star, the 1914-1918 war medal, the victory medal and the 1939-1945 defence medal for his role as an air raid warden.
