The Victoria Cross awarded to an Allied fighter pilot from the Great War has become the 200th such decoration in Lord Ashcroft's collection. Here, he tells the extraordinary story of bravery behind the medal group awarded to a heroic South African.

Powered flight was little more than a decade old when Flight Lieutenant Andrew Beauchamp Proctor took part in life-or-death dogfights in the skies over Europe. By the end of the Great War, he was a veteran.

Such was his brilliance and courage in the air during the first eight months of 1918 that Beauchamp Proctor ended the war as the sixth highest-scoring Allied ace of the conflict, with 54 victories. He was also one of the war’s most decorated pilots.

So I am delighted to have become the privileged custodian of the gallantry and service medals awarded to Flight Lieutenant Andrew Beauchamp Proctor VC, DSO, MC & Bar, DFC.