Presiding Officer to honour Arctic veterans' role
092/2006 | 5 December 2006
Scottish veterans will receive a long-awaited emblem of honour tonight, to highlight their unique contribution to the Second World War.
Presiding Officer George Reid MSP will present 13 members of the Scottish Branch of the Russian Arctic Convoys with the new Arctic Emblem at a reception in the Garden Lobby at Holyrood.
The emblem, which was announced by the Ministry of Defence in March 2005, is being given in acknowledgement of the role played by the seamen in the Russian Arctic Convoys of 1941-45, and comes after a nine-year campaign by veterans for official recognition.
Presiding Officer George Reid MSP said:
"It is a real honour to be presenting these awards to a group of Scottish men who showed such bravery in protecting our country and safeguarding the privileges and liberties that we still enjoy today.”
Chair of the Scottish Branch of the Russian Arctic Convoys, Jock Dempster, was just 16 in 1944 when he sailed to Murmansk on the tanker MV San Venancio loaded with aircraft fuel.
He said:
"Winston Churchill referred to the convoys to Russia as ‘suicide missions’ such were the odds stacked against them – with appalling weather conditions and a relentless enemy both from the sea and air.
"These presentations at Holyrood are appreciated by all the veterans for adding credence and formal recognition to the significant role we played in transporting critical war supplies to Russia. Such support sweetens the pill of not being granted a campaign medal.”
The convoys played a vital role in World War Two by delivering key supplies to Russia. Fleets of ships crewed by merchant sailors and escorted by the Royal Navy were sent from the UK to the Soviet ports of Archangel and Murmansk to deliver essential weapons, munitions and fuel to the Russian Army.
The missions were hazardous due to severe weather and the large numbers of German U-boats, aircraft and surface ships targeting the convoys, and an estimated 2,800 servicemen and merchant seamen lost their lives.
Background
Veterans of the Scottish Branch of the Russian Convoy Club being presented with their Arctic Emblems on 5 December 2006 are:
Ralph Bishop, Inverness
George Murray, Montrose
John McBryde, Newton Stewart
Alexander Blue, Edinburgh
George Gray, Greenock
Sandy Manson, John O’Groats, Wick
W Bannerman, Glasgow
Tom McLaren, Edinburgh
A Southall, Edinburgh
A Wilson, Port Seton, East Lothian
Freddy Stang, Newton Mearns, Glasgow
Peter Prestell, Dalkeith
John S Burns, Pathhead
From 1941-1945, 39 Arctic convoys sailed to the ports in Northern Russia. The first, codenamed ‘Dervish’ sailed from Liverpool on 12 th August 1941, 10 others sailed from Iceland, one from Scapa Flow, four from the Clyde and 23 from Loch Ewe in the Highlands.
A total of 104 merchant navy ships, 20 Royal Navy ships plus one submarine and 2 armed whalers were lost. Germany lost 31 submarines.
Intelligence gained from the cracking of the Enigma code played a valuable role in the success of the convoys by alerting the Royal Navy of potential targets which they could then provide with battleship escorts.
The war supplies delivered to Russia were immediately transferred to the front line and played a decisive role on the Eastern Front in the eventual defeat of Germany.
For more information on the creation of the Arctic Emblem, please contact Sara Reed in the MoD Scotland press office on 0131 301 2004.
Veterans or next of kin, who believe they are eligible for an Arctic Emblem, should refer to www.veteransagency.mod.uk/medal/artic.html for further information.
For further information, the Scottish Parliament media contact is:
Richard Holligan: 0131 348 5605
E-mail: richard.holligan@scottish.parliament.uk
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