The survivors – now in their 80s and 90s – were honored with Arctic Star medals and an admission from Prime Minister David Cameron that he was ‘righting a wrong’.
The first medals were given to veterans by Cameron himself in a ceremony in Downing Street. The British heroes have previously received medals from Russia in recognition of their valor but until now were unrecognized by their nation.
The Arctic convoys were dubbed the “worst journey in the world” by Winston Churchill. More than 3,000 seamen died on the journey, which was instrumental in making sure Germany had to fight a war on two fronts.
On August 31 1941, the first convoy of six merchant ships, codenamed Dervish, arrived at the port of Arkhangelsk with crucial supplies, including 15 Hurricane fighters. Over the next four years, 40 convoys undertook the dangerous run to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk from Scapa Flow in the Shetlands across the North and Barents Seas - one of the deadliest convoy routes during the war.
Royal Navy ships undertook some of the most perilous missions, guarding and escorting merchant ships. Some 58 of the 811 merchant ships involved were sunk by German U-boats, battleships and Luftwaffe bombers. Conditions for those on board - many just teenagers - were horrendously difficult amid freezing temperatures and heavy enemy fire.
Despite this, 13,000 tanks, 22,000 aircraft and 417,000 motor vehicles were delivered. The vital supplies helped the Red Army in the fight against Hitler on the Eastern front and - crucially - kept Germany fighting on two fronts, sapping the Nazi empire’s strength, British Forces News writes.
