Prime Minister to award first Arctic Star medals (From Daily Echo)
When news happens, text SDE and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
Prime Minister to award first Arctic Star medals
6:06am Tuesday 19th March 2013 in News
Prime Minister to award first Arctic Star medals
The Prime Minister is to present the first of two newly created medals to Second World War veterans today.
David Cameron will present the Arctic Star Medal and the Bomber Command Clasp to those who served during the war.
He will also visit HMS Belfast with three Arctic Convoy veterans.
The new medals were announced by Mr Cameron in December, 67 years after the war.
The move followed recommendations of a review of military decorations by former diplomat Sir John Holmes and a campaign fronted by Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage.
More than 3,000 seamen died over four years from 1941 on missions to keep open supply lines to Soviet ports, travelling what Winston Churchill dubbed the ''worst journey in the world''.
Until the announcement last year, a long-running campaign had been rejected on grounds of protocol.
In his review, Sir John also concluded that Bomber Command veterans were treated ''inconsistently'' in comparison with their Fighter Command counterparts.
On his advice, Mr Cameron announced the award of a new clasp for the ''heroic'' veterans of RAF Bomber Command.
Up to 250,000 veterans and families of those who have since died could be eligible to receive the new awards, with priority given to applications from veterans and widows.
But campaigners said scores of Arctic Convoy veterans died waiting for recognition.
Comments(5)
Eric_Cartman
says...
10:07am Tue 19 Mar 13
Torchie1
says...
2:28pm Tue 19 Mar 13
derek james wrote:The campaign for an Arctic Convoy Medal has been going on since the war and has been ignored by seventeen different Conservative and Labour administrations. The eighteenth administration found time to authorise the medal and your toys have gone out of the pram.
only after years of campaigning does the government begrudgingly grant the arctic medals when most of those who took part are dead and have the cheek to forbid them to take russian medals which have genuinely on offer for years, i'd tell cameron to stick it where the sun don't shine
johnm
says...
10:14pm Tue 19 Mar 13
derek james
says...
10:23pm Tue 19 Mar 13
Torchie1 wrote:you mean there's an election coming up and it might just win him a few votes along with gay marriages and an eu in out referendum, then again i wouldn't expect someone of your intellect to understand that!
derek james wrote:The campaign for an Arctic Convoy Medal has been going on since the war and has been ignored by seventeen different Conservative and Labour administrations. The eighteenth administration found time to authorise the medal and your toys have gone out of the pram.
only after years of campaigning does the government begrudgingly grant the arctic medals when most of those who took part are dead and have the cheek to forbid them to take russian medals which have genuinely on offer for years, i'd tell cameron to stick it where the sun don't shine
derek james says...
9:58am Tue 19 Mar 13