Justin Tomlinson MP Backs Recognition For Arctic Convoy Veterans

As Remembrance Sunday comes to mark 94 years since the end of the First World War, Justin Tomlinson MP has supported British World War Two Veterans by adding his name to a letter calling for a rule change to allow the servicemen to be awarded the Ushakov Medal in recognition of the part they played in the vital Arctic Convoy missions throughout the War.

The campaign, organised by the Conservative Friends of Russia (CFoR) followed up a Parliamentary Question to the Foreign Minister with a letter, signed by over thirty Members of Parliament, to the Honours and Decorations (HD) Committee demanding the veterans’ service be honoured.

Currently, the war heroes are unable to receive the medal due to a technicality that requires such rewards to reflect relevant actions within the previous five years only. They need permission from the Foreign Office or the HD Committee to accept medals from foreign countries or to waive such rules.

Whilst officials in USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have permitted their brave veterans to receive the medal, the UK Government has refused to waive the rule to allow British Servicemen to enjoy the same honour.

Among the other signatories are former Foreign and Defence Secretary (and CFoR President) Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP; Defence Select Committee Member Julian Brazier MP; and Sir Gerald Howarth MP, who committed the Conservative Party to a change in the rule when he was Shadow Defence Minister.

Between 1941 and 1945 British warships escorted 78 convoys carrying thousands of aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, trucks and tanks, fuel, food, tools and other vital supplies through the Barents Sea to the Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel in a voyage Winston Churchill described as “the worst journey in the World”.

Earlier this year Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree awarding the medal to foreign veterans for outstanding contributions to the Allied War effort. 

Justin Tomlinson MP said: “These veterans played an absolutely vital role in the War, ensuring that supply routes to one of our main allies remained open despite the incredibly difficult conditions, and they deserve to be rewarded for their bravery irrespective of the time that has elapsed.”