One of the earliest Victoria Crosses has been presented to the National Army Museum in an acquisition curators have described as a once in a lifetime donation.

Lt John Grant Malcolmson was awarded the nation’s highest medal for battlefield bravery when he charged through a square of infantry to save a fellow officer during a largely forgotten British military campaign in Persia.

A direct descendant has now donated the medal along with a trove of the hero’s personal military equipment.

The donation includes a portrait of Lt Malcolmson as well as all the ceremonial uniform worn in the picture.

Curators told the Sunday Telegraph that it was almost impossible to value the collection, but it was estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.