Four Irish veterans of the Arctic convoys which helped bring supplies to the Soviet Union during the Second World War were today presented with medals of honour on behalf of the Russian people.
The men, or their next-of-kin were presented with the 65th Anniversary Medal of the Great Patriotic War 1941-45 by Mikhail E. Timoshkin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation at a ceremony at the Russian embassy in Dublin.
Ted Jones, from Clontarf in Dublin, Geoffrey Medcalf from Dalkey, Co Dublin were accompanied by their families to collect their honours.
June O’Neill collected a medal on behalf of her late husband Gerry O’Neill, and Helen Sparksman was presented with the award for her late husband Norman Sparksman, who died aged 89 on December 31st last.
Mr Jones (87), volunteered for the RAF just after the age of 18 and received his wings after training at Pensacola, Florida, in 1942, where he flew Catalina flying boats.
On his return to England, he was sent on a special operational training course.
“You would normally go there to train to be second pilots, but two of us were so brilliant we were made captains immediately,” he said.
“Just two days after I was 20, I was captain of a 17-ton flying boat.”
Mr Jones said the responsibility “didn’t seem to weigh heavily”. Although he sometimes had “butterflies” before a mission, he felt absolutely in control once he took his seat in the cockpit, knowing he could trust his crew to have carried out their checks and duties correctly.
He subsequently joined the 210 squadron in Shetland carrying out 18-hour patrols between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and periodically monitored the convoys taking supplies on the long journey to Russia.
Mr Jones began taking helicopter flying lessons four years ago and still flies aircraft. He raised more than €7,000 for a hospice when he undertook a tandem parachute jump three years ago.
His Excellency Mikhail E Timoshkin said the medals were being presented on the eve of the “great event” of the 65th anniversary of victory against fascism, which had been a threat to all mankind.
Just three veterans of the Arctic convoys are still alive in the Republic.
Last month, John Hallahan (93) from Mercier Park in Cork was presented with the same medal at a ceremony at Cork City Hall. Mr Hallahan, who has been in hospital, was allowed out for a few hours to attend but was unable to do so yesterday.
His wife, Peggy Hallahan, travelled to Dublin for the event.
The event was also attended by the acting head of the Defence Forces Maj Gen Dave Ashe.