Shropshire war veteran's joy at receiving medal
A war veteran who sailed the icy waters of the Arctic during World War Two has finally received a medal for his service – after a wait of 70 years.
Roy Walker, 95, of Doddington, near Cleobury Mortimer, has been given the Arctic Star for his part in the Arctic convoys.
The Arctic Star has only recently been issued, approved by the Queen in 2012 and first awarded in 2013, to recognise those that served in the Arctic who were overlooked for a medal at the time.
The issuing of the medal followed a long campaign by war veterans to have the heroes of the convoys in the far north recognised.
Nicky Turner, activities co-ordinator at Doddington Lodge residential home, where Mr Walker lives, said Mr Walker's son William Walker had applied to get his father the medal as soon as he heard it was available.
She said Mr Walker was overjoyed to receive it.
"It was a total surprise to him," she said.
"He didn't know he was going to get it.
"We got his blazer out with all his other medals on and said to him 'we're going to add to this'.
"He was very happy.
"He has short term memory loss but he remembers everything from back then.
"We went through the photo album in the morning and he was remembering when he was up in the Arctic.
"The ship was covered in ice and if there was any trouble, he had to man the guns."
She added: "He had a lovely day and he was really proud."
Born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1918, Mr Walker's family moved to Shifnal when he was 17 and he became a ship chain maker along with his father at Edge and Sons.
His son William, who lives near Church Stretton, said: "Although this was a reserve occupation, he nevertheless voluntarily enlisted to fight for his country."
He said his father joined the Royal Navy and after serving on the HMS Iron Duke was transferred to King George V class battleship the Duke of York in 1941.
"His first voyage was to transport Winston Churchill to the USA for a meeting with President Roosevelt," explained Mr Walker.
After that, the Duke of York joined the Arctic convoys, he said, and it later saw action in the Mediterranean.
"The greatest battle fought by the Duke of York was the action against the German battleship Scharnhorst in the Barents Sea," he said.
The Scharnhorst had been sent to the area off the north coast of Norway in December 1943, to join the Bismarck-class battleship Tirpitz and intercept the Allied Arctic convoys, Mr Walker's ship was among them, on their way to the Soviet Union.
But instead the Scharnhorst was intercepted by British patrols, and when it came up against the Duke of York, it was sunk. It became known as the Battle of the North Cape, and only 36 men were pulled from the icy seas, out of a crew of 1,968.
Also that year, the Duke of York stopped briefly in the Scottish estuary the Firth of Forth where Mr Walker made the most of his shore leave – he got married to sweetheart Sarah Emily Stevenson, who had travelled up from Shifnal to Edinburgh especially.
While on the Duke of York, Mr Walker trained as an electrician and went on to work for the Midlands Electricity Board after the war, before going to work for the MOD at Donnington in 1956, where he stayed until his retirement.
He then lived in Market Drayton. He was widowed in 1991, and he went to live in Doddington Lodge, between Clee Hill and Cleobury Mortimer, in 2012.
Ms Turner said: "He's had a happy life here since.
"He enjoys his retirement."
