Relatives finally receive Ludlow man's Arctic star

Cyril Price died aged 73 in 1997, without ever having been decorated for his time in the freezing surrounds of the Arctic, during which he saw many a sea battle.

Ludlow born and bred, he was one of 11 children, including his older brother Bill, who was Mayor of Ludlow. He joined the Navy in 1939 aged just 16 and, afterwards, followed his father William Price into business as an ironmonger and plumber.

He passed away five years before Prime Minister David Cameron announced that Arctic Stars would be presented to surviving veterans and the families of late military personnel involved in the dangerous missions.

Son Les Price, 75, who runs a sign-writing business in Craven Arms, said: "We saw it advertised when they said they were going to issue it.

"We applied but we have had to wait quite a long time as they were giving the star to those who are still alive, and widows, first."

He said his father never expected a medal, and would not have sought publicity if he had been here to receive it.

"They didn't think about it in those days," he said. "He wouldn't have made a fuss if it was him."

More than 3,000 Royal Navy and merchant seamen died between 1941 and 1945 on the convoys. Only about 200 veterans are still alive. Mr Price said: "He was on the HMS Sheffield, part of the convoy taking equipment to Russia in 1943."

After taking part in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941 the HMS Sheffield was part of the Arctic convoys until she hit a mine off Iceland in March, 1942, and was under repair until July. She was in the Battle of the Barents Sea where her crew sank the German destroyer Friedrich Eckholdt and, in 1943, she took part in the sinking of the battleship Scharnhorst off the north coast of Norway, in late December.

Mr Price said: "They were used as a decoy to bring it (Sharnhorst) out into open sea."

The ship was heavily damaged in the ensuing fight, he said. "It had to creep back to Liverpool with only one propeller working out of eight." His father had also served on the HMS Cleopatra, he said.

"He did talk about it while he was alive, now I wish I had listened more," he said. "We are proud, we always have been."

The Arctic convoys of World War Two sailed from Britain, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Archangel and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945, although there were two gaps with no sailings between July and September 1942, and March and November 1943.

About 1,400 merchant ships delivered essential supplies to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program, escorted by ships of the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and the US Navy. Eighty-five merchant vessels and 16 Royal Navy warships – two cruisers, six destroyers, eight other escort ships – were lost. The Nazis lost a number of vessels including one battleship, three destroyers and at least 30 U-boats as well as a large number of aircraft.

The convoys demonstrated the Allies' commitment to helping the Soviet Union, prior to the opening of a Second Front, and tied up a substantial part of Germany's Navy and Air Force.

The Arctic Star is awarded for operational service of any length north of the Arctic Circle.

Though it is intended to recognise the service of Arctic convoy personnel in World War Two, other members of the military and civilians may qualify.