This military award, as stated in the Decree of the President of Russia of may 20, 2020, marked personal courage and bravery Durham Derek Edwin Jasper, Ledbetter Edwin, the Oldroyd Harry, was John Robinson, William Jeffrey, Wheeler Reginald and Charles Hogg of Athol, they have shown in the years of the Second world war during participation in the Northern convoys.
This award as a sign of high respect and appreciation to the allies for the overall contribution to the victory over fascism was not the first time. But from year to year, these ceremonies are becoming increasingly rare, isolated, and therefore even more poignant. Today you can list the names of British, Icelandic, American, canadian sailors that escaped the fate of PQ-17 and was able to live up to the 75th anniversary of the end of world war II.
for Those who have not read Valentin Pikul “Requiem caravan PQ-17”, or have forgotten the history of Northern (or Arctic) convoys recall. This route from Iceland and Scotland (mainly from Liverpool) in Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and Molotovsk (now Severodvinsk) all four years of the war, from August 21, 1941, transport and trade vessels with combat outposts (escort) brought from the countries of anti-Hitler coalition to the Soviet Union strategic cargo including tanks, planes, vehicles, communications equipment, uniforms and supplies.
it is believed that the Arctic convoys (there were a total of 78, nearly 1,400 vessels and transports) supplied almost half of all goods under lend-lease. But it got to the destination and back, not all of 87 merchant ships and 18 ships of the Royal Navy were sunk, three thousand sailors did not wait for the families.
Edwin Leadbetter, with whom he was able to contact the TASS correspondent in London Ilya Dmitriev, served on an escort aircraft carrier “Fencer” (HMS Fencer), participated in the escort of convoys 22 and considers himself a lucky man. Now lives near Glasgow, Scotland and trying to follow the news. In dialogue with our colleague admitted that the news about the Russian award is very happy. The daughter of a veteran Elizabeth McKenna, whose words quoted by TASS, said that it was “absolutely special”medal.
And it is impossible not to agree.
the Ushakov Medal was established by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 3, 1944 – the same day as orders of Ushakov and Nakhimov medal of Nakhimov. It is believed that a number of new award was introduced as the “marine counterpart” of the medal “For courage” – the most revered in the army from the beginning to the end of the war. According to unofficial statistics, the Ushakov medal during the great Patriotic war awarded no more than 14 thousand people. It was introduced mainly sailors, sergeants, warrant officers, and Jung. As the exceptions were cases of awarding of Junior officers. Re-awarding of this medal (in contrast to the same Mr.��dark “For courage” and “For military merit”) is not practiced, although some cases were.
Interesting post-war fate, and even more – the post-Soviet history of the award. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 17, 1945, the medal of Ushakov was awarded five U.S. Navy sailors. In March 1980, the position of the Ushakov medal was made in the new edition, and in the next ten years, this award is still about a thousand people, including foreigners – participants of the Second world war.
the Medal of Ushakov is one of the few awards that have fallen from the Soviet Union in the award system of Russia, and without any change in its appearance. But the transition itself was in two stages.
by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation from March 2, 1992 were allowed to apply for the award of Russian citizens, the medal of Ushakov, which was approved in 1944 in the USSR. As early as 7 July 1992 the award has been marked from 996 veterans of the great Patriotic war – the graduates of the school Solovetsky Yung.
two years later, on 2 March 94 – on the basis of the presidential decree, the medal of Ushakov, with some variation of the Statute, officially “prescribed” in the award system of the Russian Federation. And already on 11 April 94 the awarding of 23 veterans.
…Information about how much of Ushakov medals awarded by the new rules of the Russian award system, the informal sources diverge. But the correspondent of TASS in the Russian Embassy in London on their numbers called: from 2014, over 3.5 thousand of Ushakov medals presented to British veterans.
seven More on the basis of the decree of Vladimir Putin dated may 20, 2020 will be awarded awarded as soon as the British Isles will take quarantine measures. In the meantime, reported in the Russian Embassy, “we connect with veterans, their family members, inform about the signing of the decree”.
