The medals and flying log books of a man dubbed Britain's greatest pilot have gone on display ahead of an auction later this month.

Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown, who died aged 97 in February, was the Navy's most decorated pilot and flew 487 types of aircraft in his lifetime.

In a colourful career spanning 31 years, he witnessed the horrors of a concentration camp liberated by the British and accomplished a series of notable firsts in the world of aviation.

The veteran, who was born in Leith, Edinburgh, and later moved to Copthorne, was the first Naval pilot to land a jet on an aircraft carrier, and held the record for the most carrier deck landings at 2,407.

He cheated death on a number of occasions, surviving being sunk by a U-boat in 1941, and later being shot at and injured by a German long-range bomber.

The medals to be sold include the Distinguished Service Cross, dated 1942, the Air Force Cross, from 1947, and the CBE he was awarded in 1970.

The lot, valued at £150,000 to £200,000, also includes Winkle Brown's flying log books from 1942 to his final flights for the Fleet Air Arm in 1970. There are also log books covering his work on flying boats and his civilian flying career.

They can be seen at Bonhams in Edinburgh on Wednesday and Thursday before returning to London, where they will be sold in a medals, bonds, banknotes and coins dale at Bonhams in Knightsbridge on November 23.

Bonhams expert John Millensted said: "Eric 'Winkle' Brown was an extraordinary man. The Royal Navy's most decorated flyer, he established records far beyond the reach of pilots today.

"He was regarded with awe by aviators of all kinds - the first man on the moon Neil Armstrong was an admirer and friend - and until his final years he was in great demand, not out of nostalgic respect but because his vast experience never ceased to be of practical use."