Two WWII veterans aged 98 and 99 have been honoured with new medals for their service in the highly dangerous Arctic Convoy journeys.
Derek Whitwam, 98, who served aboard the Royal Navy ship HMS Berwick from 1943-1945, and Stan Welsh, 99, on the HMS Apollo in 1944 and 1945, were part of key voyages that helped the Allied victory and the liberation of Norway.
Last night in Wellington they each received the Norwegian Defence Medal, and Norwegian Government Commemorative Medal, presented by representatives from the Norwegian Embassy in Canberra.
Winston Churchill described the convoy’s route as “the worst journey in the world” at the time.
The convoy involved about 1400 merchant ships delivering essential supplies from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports of the Soviet Union, escorted by ships of the Royal Navy, Canadian Navy, and the US Navy.
Eighty-five merchant vessels and sixteen Royal Navy warships were sunk.
Whitwam told 1News that on the convoy: “You had a job to do and you just did it.”
He said he was “overwhelmed” and “very surprised — it was very unexpected” when he was told about the medals three weeks ago.
Whitwam’s role involved plotting planes and supporting radar operators on the ship — but he said the missions were “secretive”.
“You very rarely knew where you were going and what you were doing.”
Welsh, who helped with radio operations, said it was “a real surprise and a joyous experience, to be remembered after this time”.
But he also understood why the Arctic Convoy was not widely understood among younger generations in New Zealand now — considering more recent conflicts dominating news coverage.
“Back then you just had newspapers but now you’ve got TV, it’s right there and you’ve got all these programmes … and unfortunately there’s too much of this war isn’t there?” Welsh said.
Arctic Convoy researcher Grace Penlain told 1News: “It’s pretty clear that if it were not for this effort, then the Soviet Union would not have been able to stay in the war, and without them, things most likely would have gone very, very differently.”
She said the convoy was “really important for the entire war effort” for the Allies.