A Second World War veteran who lives in High Wycombe was awarded a medal by the Russian Embassy for his role in the Arctic Convoys.

Jack Plumridge, 89, who lives in Nightingale Court, took part in three arctic convoys between 1943 and 1945, working as a telegraphist in the radio room on an escort carrier.

The convoys consisted of vessels which travelled from Britain to northern Russia to deliver essential supplies to the Soviet Union.

They were under constant threat of attack by German U-boats and aircraft and also had to deal with severe cold, storms, and ice floes.

The Paradigm resident said he was lucky as they only lost one ship on the convoys he took part in – but he remembers that all the men were well aware of the danger they were in.

He said: “We knew the convoys were dangerous and of course the weather was often terrible.

“In a convoy you can only go at the speed of the slowest ship and if the sea was rough, you got thrown about all over the place.”

Bucks Free Press:

Mr Plumridge with his medal

Mr Plumridge said the Foreign Office initially did not allow Russia to honour the veterans as it broke the rules on foreign medals which stated that British soldiers could not receive a foreign medal if the act happened more than five years ago.

So he was delighted when the rules were relaxed and he received the letter inviting him to a ceremony at the Russian Embassy in London.

“It came completely out of the blue and was a lovely surprise” said Mr Plumridge, who has lived at Nightingale Court since it opened 15 years ago.

He added: “Of course I have medals from the British Government, but it really was good to get one from Russia as well.” 

He thoroughly enjoyed meeting other war veterans when he travelled to the Ushakov medal ceremony with his wife, Sheila.

Mr Plumridge added: “It was a very special day. We were very well received and everyone was very courteous to us. It was nice to meet the other veterans but we didn’t share our stories.

“I don’t know what they did and they don’t know what I did, it was just nice that we were all able to be awarded together.”