Bob Cowan presented with Arctic Star medal
Chorlton Good Neighbours has run a long campaign to get a medal awarded to our member Bob Cowan, 94, who is a veteran of the WW2 Arctic Convoys and who’s story we have told before (see http://goo.gl/hY76Md)
The campaign was successful in that the UK government agreed to an new award – the Arctic Star medal. However, the medal arrived in the post over the summer in a jiffy bag. As Bob’s eyesight is so poor, he wasn’t aware of the medal. It is only when I rummaged around with Bob did we find it
As part of Chorlton Book Week, I was asked to give a talk about the Arctic Convoys. I thought it would be a good idea if we could make a presentation of the medal to Bob and link his personal story of the Arctic Convoys with a wider history of them
Here is Bill being given the medal by local Chorlton Councillor Cllr Sheila Newman
Bob show his medal to Mary O’Mahoney, A Chorlton Good Neighbours volunteer
Some of the audience at the talk on the Arctic convoys and presentation to Bob Cown held on Friday Nov 22nd 2013
Bob talks to Fred Ryder (also 94) who is another local Chorlton Resident and is a veteran of the Anzio landings and Italian campaign in WW2
Bob looks at the model he made on his ship HMS Ashanti whilst on an Arctic Convoy mission
The Manchester Evening News ran a story about Bob and his receiving the Arctic Star medal on Mon 25th Nov 2013
The campaign for Bob and other Arctic Convoy veterans began when Bob received a letter from the Russian Embassy in 2012 offering the Ushakov medal for his wartime service on the Arctic Convoys. We found out that the British Government was blocking the award of this medal. However, this decision has recently been reversed and Andrey Makarenko, the Russian Embassy representative who cam to Chorlton Good Neighbours to present Bob with a medal in Feb 2013, has said that the Ushakov medal should be awarded to Bob early in 2014
When that happens we will have another celebration with Bob!
Chorlton Good Neighbours 