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Capt Cochrane's medal group consists of the Distinguished Service Order with Second Award Bar; 1914-15 Star; British War and Victory Medals; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; War Medal 1939-45; Coronation 1937; United States of Merit.

The bravery medals of a hero submariner who made one of World War One's most daring escapes are being sold by his family for £18,000.

Captain Sir Archibald Cochrane sank numerous enemy vessels before he was captured during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915.

He was part of a group of officers who broke out of a Turkish POW camp in August 1918, cutting through the bars of a hospital window with a steel saw before descending to the ground on a rope ladder.

Then followed an extraordinary six-week long 450 mile trek across mountainous terrain in extreme weather, dodging Turkish patrols and evading fire from local bandits. After reaching the coast, they commandeered a motor boat and crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Cyprus where they were greeted as heroes. Their exploits were later revealed in a book, Four-Fifty Miles to Freedom.

Capt Cochrane's medals - including a prestigious Distinguished Service Order with bar - are going under the hammer with London based auctioneers Spink & Son.