British and Russian WW2 veterans mark anniversary of Arctic convoys

Record ID: 88903

  • Title: British and Russian WW2 veterans mark anniversary of Arctic convoys
  • Date: 30th August 2016
  • Summary: ARKHANGELSK, RUSSIA (AUGUST 30, 2016) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PLEASURE BOAT VARIOUS OF HONOUR GUARD AT ENTRANCE VARIOUS OF VETERAN IN WHEELCHAIR VARIOUS OF VETERANS AND OTHER GUESTS BOARDING BOAT VETERANS ON BOARD JOURNALIST TALKING TO VETERANS PHOTOGRAPH (SOUNDBITE) (English) VETERAN OF ARCTIC CONVOY, DAVID BROWNLIE CRAIG, SAYING: "This is my t
  • Embargoed: 14th September 2016 16:07
  • Keywords: WWII Arctic convoy Russia Britain veterans anniversary Arkhangelsk
  • Location: ARKHANGELSK, RUSSIA
  • City: ARKHANGELSK, RUSSIA
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA0014XBGY87
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:World War Two veterans gathered in the Russian city of Arkhangelsk on Tuesday (August 30) to mark 75 years since the first Allied Arctic Convoys arrived by sea to the northern Soviet port.
    The vital supply route to the Soviets was described by Winston Churchill as "the worst journey in the world".
    "I think the most dangerous part was being on an Arctic convoy and not knowing what was going to happen with the submarines, the aircrafts and the mines. But the operation in air, there was no real danger because we were used to fighting Messerschmitts, we were used to that. And it was quite exciting to shoot an aircraft down. So there was no real fear of danger," veteran of the convoys, British pilot John Francis Durham Elkington said.
    Britain's Princess Anne, accompanied by a group of British veterans, was among those attending events honouring those who sailed and protected the convoys carrying supplies to aid the Soviet Union in the fight against Nazi Germany. Some of the cargo was delivered to the besieged city of Leningrad.
    The first of the convoys was code-named "Dervish".
    Some 1,400 merchant vessels, accompanied by Royal Navy, U.S. Navy and Royal Canadian Navy ships, sailed to northern Soviet ports between August 1941 and May 1945. Dozens of the vessels were lost and more than 3,000 British servicemen and their allies died.
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