Post by Admin on Jun 22, 2014 3:43:23 GMT -5
Arctic convoys: "I'm very proud to wear a Russian medal" - veteran:
THE SILENT SERVICE:
The announcement that a fresh batch of Ushakov medals will be awarded to British servicemen who served on the Arctic convoys has been welcomed in the UK. We spoke to Ron Miller, now 88 years old, who was aboard several of those convoy missions and is one of those who will receive an Ushakov. He was just 17 years old when he joined up.
"The Royal Navy has got a nickname - it's called 'the silent service' - and we don't talk about what we did. The only people that brag about it are those that didn't see anything. The people that saw active service are very quiet about it and they don't... I'll be quite honest, I'm a bit embarrassed about all this publicity I'm getting - it's good publicity, but I'm not one who likes a lot of publicity."
You knew at the time how hazardous it was?
"Oh yes, when I started we always remembered the first convoy in 1942 when 34 ships were sunk; and 30,000 sailors were killed - Allied seamen - on the Convoys."
LINK
THE SILENT SERVICE:
The announcement that a fresh batch of Ushakov medals will be awarded to British servicemen who served on the Arctic convoys has been welcomed in the UK. We spoke to Ron Miller, now 88 years old, who was aboard several of those convoy missions and is one of those who will receive an Ushakov. He was just 17 years old when he joined up.
"The Royal Navy has got a nickname - it's called 'the silent service' - and we don't talk about what we did. The only people that brag about it are those that didn't see anything. The people that saw active service are very quiet about it and they don't... I'll be quite honest, I'm a bit embarrassed about all this publicity I'm getting - it's good publicity, but I'm not one who likes a lot of publicity."
You knew at the time how hazardous it was?
"Oh yes, when I started we always remembered the first convoy in 1942 when 34 ships were sunk; and 30,000 sailors were killed - Allied seamen - on the Convoys."
LINK