OUR FORGOTTEN HEROES

As a small child I sat for many hours listening to the stories from my great uncle, a naval veteran of the Arctic convoys to Russia and of much else. Some seventy years ago on August 31, 1941, less than two months after Hitler attacked the Soviet Union, the first Allied Arctic Convoy (of the 78) arrived in Arkhangelsk in northern Russia.

From then on until the last convoy arrived at Murmansk on May 22, 1945, more than 1,400 merchant ships escorted by ships of the British, U.S. and Canadian Navies brought important military and other supplies to two northern (then Soviet) ports or Murmansk and Arkhangelsk (as part of the US lend-lease program).

The first small convoy, consisted of six merchant ships and several escorts, and brought rubber, tin and other raw materials not to mention 15 British Hurricane fighters complete with pilots and maintenance crews. Some 85 merchant vessels and 16 Royal Navy warships were sunk by Nazi submarines and approximately 3,000 British servicemen were killed during the Arctic campaign.

The significance of lend-lease supplies for the Eastern front by Soviet-bound Arctic convoys and their role in defeating fascism is still emerging. The convoy veterans and the vital supplies they delivered were lost in the often hot rhetoric of the Cold War. Oleg Rzheshevsky, the Russian war historian, has noted that apart from everything else, the convoys were a powerful moral influence.

"The moral aspect of the Arctic Convoys meant a lot. This was an extremely important factor both for the army and for all our people as it signalled that we were not alone in that war but had strong allies such as Britain and the United States. This helped boost our troop morale on the battlefield and supported our people on the home front."

Many of the arctic convoy veterans are still alive, in May; they were all awarded special medals by Russia in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of Victory over fascism. The awards ceremony took place aboard the historic Belfast cruiser, the last surviving UK warship that served the Arctic Convoys, a fresh reminder that World War II was not just a Soviet war, or a British war, but a common war against fascist tyranny.

This week, a group of Arctic convoy veterans have travelled to Arkhangelsk for ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the first arctic convoy. Back in August 2009, a new memorial was dedicated on the Orkney Islands as a lasting tribute to all those who took part in the Arctic Convoys.

Yet here our veterans are still waiting for coalition government (in office for 18 months) to honour Prime Minister David Cameron’s election promise (which has been repeated) to create a special medal for veterans of the Arctic Convoys. While Whitehall may not have noticed, the Cold war has been over since 1989 yet the UK Government still refuses to acknowledge the significance of the Russian convoys and the bravery of the veterans.

Successive Westminster governments have promised to create a medal, yet have failed to keep their promise. The Russian Government has awarded our veterans three medals, the arctic convoys are now part of Russia’s school curriculum. The Russian Government and the Russian people understand the convoy’s importance, yet successive UK Governments really struggle with this.

Perhaps the National Assembly should explore whether or not we in Wales can honour our arctic convoy veterans. Our veterans should not be left out in the cold again, the medal needs to be created and awarded to the veterans and their families before it is too late.