Arctic star honour is years too late for some

Eric Nichols, 89, from Haywards Heath, was awarded the medal for sailing with Russian Convoys during World War Two. He said: “I am glad I have it now but it should have been awarded many years ago, when many more of the crews were still alive.

“Their dependants can still apply but it would have been much more satisfactory if the men themselves could have been honoured by the award.”

Mr Nichols joined the Navy in early 1942 at the age of 18.

The Arctic convoys were made up of vessels which travelled from Britain to northern Russia to resupply the Soviet Union.

By May 1945, the Arctic route had claimed 104 merchant and 16 military vessels. Thousands of Allied seamen lost their lives.

Mr Nichols was part of Convoy JW 66, one of the last convoys to Russia which consisted of 26 freighters and oil supply ships heading for Murmansk.

He said: “Our route took us up near Bear Island, a remote island near the Svalbard Islands, here a group of U-boats were waiting for us, but the combined efforts of our aircraft and the destroyers kept them at a distance and no attack was made.

“The aircrews were real heroes, they flew in all kinds of weather.”

The convoy made it to Murmansk despite meeting more u-boats on the way.

Mr Nichols added: “After about a week the merchant ships started to come down from Murmansk ready to form the convoy to come home, we were just leaving the jetty when emergency signals started to come in. One of the frigates, HMS Goodall, had been torpedoed outside an inlet – the U-boats had been waiting.

“She was sunk with a great loss of life. This was one of the last ships to be sunk during the war.”

The convoy had no more attacks on its journey home to the UK.

Russia presented those involved in the Arctic Convoy with a medal in 1985.

During his naval career Mr Nichols served on the Atlantic convoys on HMS Premier, and escorted a ship carrying Guinness from Ireland to England.

“One of the boats sunk, which was carrying the barrels which broke free and our skipper insisted that they had to be rescued,” he said.