Enter
Moral duty to honour heroes
of the Arctic
Editorial : Daily Mail : London : November 2011
Average winter air temperatures of minus 20C, mountainous seas so cold
that falling in was almost certain death, and the constant menace of
prowling ‘wolf packs’ of Hitler’s U-boats.
No wonder Winston Churchill called the Arctic Convoys ‘the worst journey
in the world’. Between 1941 and 1945, 66,500 merchant and Royal Navy
seamen showed almost unimaginable bravery in sailing from Scotland to
northern Russia to keep the Soviet Union supplied with food and vital
military equipment. More than 100 ships were sunk and 3,000 men
killed but Russia stood firm against the Nazis.
Yet, 66 years on, the Ministry of Defence still refuses to strike a
special campaign medal for those who served. The pathetic excuse is that
they are already eligible for the Atlantic Star and that one medal
should suffice. Earlier this year David Cameron supported the case for
an Arctic Medal but he now appears to be backsliding. Understandably the
200 surviving veterans feel utterly betrayed.
The abject failure to honour these neglected heroes is shameful. The
grateful Russians have done it and it’s now Mr Cameron’s moral duty to
follow suit – no prevarication, no ifs, no buts. If the families of
every single Arctic veteran – including the dead – were to claim the
medal, the estimated cost would be around £1million.
Considering what these men endured in the service of their country, it is a drop in the ocean.
Make your opinion count.
Sign the petition here:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/5211