A painting by prominent Nazi Rudolf Hess is to go under the hammer, along with a collection of one man’s World War II memorabilia, an auctioneer said yesterday.

The landscape, painted by Hess, was given to Roland Davis who guarded the infamous figure after World War II as a keepsake.

It is part of a collection of memorabilia from Mr Davis’s time in the war which is being sold by his son Peter Davis, from Lincolnshire.

Auctioneer Terry Woodcock, of Unique Auctions in Lincoln, said the collection could be sold as individual items, but Mr Davis Jr wanted to keep it together.

Mr Woodcock said Roland Davis, who was a rear gunner in World War II, had led an “incredible” life with much of the collection telling his story.

He said he had served in the army in Burma, but when World War II broke out he was not allowed to rejoin the army, so instead he joined the air force as a rear gunner on Lancaster bombers.

Mr Davis had even believed he was part of the crew that shot down the last German plane in the war.

He was later brought out of retirement to guard Mr Hess in Berlin, which was when he befriended the Nazi figure. Mr Woodcock said: “He became very friendly with him because he was in charge of the English forces that were looking after him; he was chief prison warden.”

As well as the painting, signed by Hess and thought to be of a Bavarian scene from his childhood, the collection includes a helmet, gas mask, flight records and medals.

“It’s probably one of the best collections of one man to do with Germany that I’ve seen,” Mr Woodcock said.

“It’s the whole story, his life. He had an incredible life. His son was saying he never ever spoke of anything to do with the war, it was only after he died that he was going through the artefacts and started to find out about all of this.”

The collection is listed at £500 to £800 but could fetch much more.

It will go under the hammer at what Mr Woodcock described could be the best sale in Unique Auctions’ 17-year history.

Other items to be sold are a 1927 Morris Cowley car and a rare fairground organ dating back to the 1800s, which is expected to fetch more than £30,000 at the sale on Saturday in Lincoln.