British veterans who braved enemy fire, freezing waters and brutal weather to keep open supply lines to Russia during World War II were on Tuesday honoured for the first time with a new medal. Prime Minister David Cameron presented about 40 men with the new Arctic Star at a special ceremony at Downing Street, where he apologised for the 70-year delay in recognising their bravery.
"You were involved in the most important struggle of the last 100 years when you were supplying one of our allies in the battle to defeat Hitler and to defeat fascism in Europe," Cameron said. About 3,000 sailors and merchant seamen died between 1941 and 1945 on a mission described by wartime leader Winston Churchill as "the worst journey in the world". Men as young as 16 sailed from Britain to the northern Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel to help the Soviets, who were under blockade by Nazi Germany.
More than 100 civilian and military ships were lost as they ran the gauntlet of enemy submarines and vessels, their crews killed in the attacks or left to perish in the freezing waters. Between 200 and 400 sailors, now all in their late 80s or 90s, survive from the campaign although the medal is also available for relatives of those who took part in the Arctic convoys.