A PRIVATISATION TOO FAR

There was a time when if you had said that a Conservative dominated coalition government has quietly gone ahead and privatised the Air Sea Rescue Service then people would have thought that you were pulling an April fool gag. The sad fact is that this is no April fool!  

From 2017 the whole air sea rescue service will be run by the Bristow Group who have won a 10-year contract to run the service starting from 2015. This deal is worth £1.6 billion pounds and ends seventy years of search and rescue being provided from the RAF and Royal Navy. As part of the deal, Bristow will replace RAF and Royal Navy Sea King helicopters with modern Sikorsky S-92s and AgustaWestland 189s. 

Some twenty two helicopters will operate from ten locations around the UK. Ten S-92s will be based, two per site, at Stornoway and Sumburgh, and at new bases at Newquay, Caernarfon and Humberside airports. Ten AW189s will operate, two per site, from Lee-on-the-Solent and a new hangar at Prestwick airport, and new bases which will be established at St Athan, Inverness and Manston airports. All bases will be operational 24 hours a day and half of the new fleet will be built in Yeovil, Somerset. In Wales, the search and rescue service have operated out of RAF Valley on Ynys Mon. 

The service is much valued by the public and has saved many hundreds of lives, plucking those in need from the Mountains and the seas around Wales and elsewhere around the UK. The Westminster Government does not have good record when it comes to privatising those services which would be better left in public hands as the recent (and ongoing) shambles over the East Coast railway franchise shows. It makes one question, the Lib Dem’s talk of curbing the baser instincts of their Conservative coalition partners. This is step into the wild unknown and in my opinion a privatisation too far.

THE RIGHT DECISION

The worst journey in the world

David Cameron’s decision to honour the Arctic convoy veterans is the right decision even if it was a long time coming. Mr Cameron told MPs he had accepted the recommendations of a review of military medals carried out by former diplomat Sir John Holmes. Russia’s gratitude to the naval and merchant navy veterans who ferried supplies to Murmansk and Archangel during the Second World War has long been noted.

The veterans risked their lives time and time again convoying crucial supplies through often atrocious weather and hostile seas to the hard pressed (then) Soviet Union, which was fighting for survival. The Foreign Office (and the Ministry of Defence) had previously repeatedly (under both Labour and Conservative Governments) blocked this move saying that it would break the rules surrounding acceptance of medals. The Russian Embassy had expressed its 'deep regret' at this decision, which was understandably been condemned by surviving convoy veterans, their families and supporters.

Between August 31, 1941 and May 22, 1945, some 78 Allied Arctic Convoy (more than 1,400 merchant ships escorted by ships of the British, U.S. and Canadian Navies) sailed to the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.  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 temporarily 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."

Successive Westminster governments had previously promised to create a medal, yet they all failed to deliver on 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 seem to really struggle with this, at least until now.

A BROKEN PROMISE!

It’s quite simple really; Russia wants to award the Medal of Ushakov to Britain's Arctic convoy veterans as a symbol of Russia’s gratitude to the naval and merchant navy veterans who ferried supplies to Murmansk and Archangel during the Second World War. The veterans risked their lives time and time again convoying crucial supplies through often atrocious weather and hostile seas to the hard pressed (then) Soviet Union, which was fighting for survival.

The Foreign Office (and the Ministry of Defence) has repeatedly (under both Labour and Conservative Governments) blocked this move saying that it would break the rules surrounding acceptance of medals. The Russian Embassy has expressed its 'deep regret' at this decision, which has understandably been condemned by surviving convoy veterans and their families.

Between August 31, 1941 and May 22, 1945, some 78 Allied Arctic Convoy (more than 1,400 merchant ships escorted by ships of the British, U.S. and Canadian Navies) sailed to the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.  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 temporarily 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 with us, back in May 2010; surviving veterans 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.

Prime Minister David Cameron, just like the rest  of them has broken his election promise to create a special medal for veterans of the Arctic Convoys. Successive Westminster governments have promised to create a medal, yet have failed to deliver on 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 seem to really struggle with this.

I think it’s time for the National Assembly to explore ways we can honour our surviving arctic convoy veterans.  I believe that we need to do this quickly because it is the right thing to do and because I sat for many hours listening (as a small child) to heavily edited stories from my great uncle, a naval veteran of the Arctic convoys to Russia and of much else. 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.

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.