A VETERAN of the Russian convoys from Padiham has joined an elite band and been honoured for his service by president Vladimir Putin.

Jim Bates, of St Leonard’s Street, was the proud recipient of the Ushakov Medal after Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle handed over the honour at his St James Row office.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Mr Birtwistle had been presented with the distinction by Russian ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko to convey to Mr Bates, who served during the war aboard HMS Wilton.

He is now president of Burnley and Padiham Royal British Legion.

The Arctic convoys of World War II were ocean-going convoys thatwhich sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union.

Between 1941 and 1945, British warships escorted nearly 80 convoys carrying thousands of aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, trucks and tanks, fuel, food, tools and other vital supplies through the Barents Sea.

The voyages to the Russian ports of Murmansk and ArchangelArkhangelsk wereas described by Winston Churchill as “the worst journey in the world”.

In his address to veterans, Mr Yakovenko said: “It is a huge privilege for me to thank you on behalf of the Russian Government for the invaluable contribution you and your comrades-in-arms made to the defeat of Nazi Germany.”

Interviewed previously, Mr Bates said: “I recall seeing a lot of terrible things but I remember the cold especially.

“As well as the Arctic, I sailed in convoys to Malta, Sicily and North Africa.”

In October 2013 Mr Bates was also presented with the Arctic Star from the Ministry of Defence for his role in the convoys.

Named after the feted Russian admiral, the Ushakov Medal dates back to 1944 but foreign naval veterans only qualified for the award from 2012.