A contemporary account by the man who retrieved the bodies of two British officers executed by the Irgun in 1947, could fetch £1,000 at auction next week.

The execution of the two British officers, Sergeant Clifford Martin and Sergeant Mervyn Paice, hanged in retaliation for the execution of three Irgun members by the British, was a major turning point in the withdrawal of the British from Mandate Palestine.

Sergeant Major Radcliffe of the Royal Engineers was sent to retrieve the booby-trapped bodies from the woods outside Netanya.

The June 2 sale by Mullock's Auctioneers at Ludlow Racecourse in Shropshire will also feature original shots of the bombing of the King David Hotel in 1946. Compiled by a member of an RAF regiment in Palestine, they show the clean-up operation after the bombing by the Irgun. These pictures could make around £700.

The sale also features original photos taken in Israel by the renowned photographer Robert Capa.