Sir Douglas Bader [wikimedia commons / iwm.org.uk]

A CAP and flying scarf worn by an RAF legend is being auctioned for £25,000 to help victims of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader’s inscribed visor and maroon “cloth flying scarf” is on display at the Connect Art Fair, in the Mall Galleries, this week.

The flying ace gave the gear to Arthur Dunn, an officers’ mess clerk.

Organisers described the historic lot as “an extraordinary survival from one of the greatest aces of all time”, adding: “An example of determination against all the odds.”

And 40 per cent of the proceeds are being donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee which brings together 15 leading charities, including the Red Cross and Oxfam, a mystery seller has stipulated.

The DEC aims to raise funds quickly and efficiently at times of crisis.

Sir Douglas is credited with 22 “aerial victories” and is arguably the most famous British World War II fighter pilot.

He joined the RAF in 1928 but in 1931, while attempting some aerobatics, he crashed and lost both his legs.

Despite this, as the legend has it, he retook his pilot training before being retired on medical grounds.

After the outbreak of war in 1939 Bader returned to the RAF scoring his first victories over Dunkirk during the Battle of France and later the Battle of Britain.

In August 1941 Bader bailed out of his plane behind enemy lines. He tried to escape but was imprisoned in Colditz Castle.

He remained there until April 1945 when it was liberated. Bader left the RAF permanently in February 1946 and went on to campaign for the disabled.

He was knighted in 1976 and died, aged 72, in 1982.

The cap and scarf are on display at the Connect Art Fair, open this weekend.