A VETERAN who helped defend the Arctic convoys in the Second World War has been recognised by the Russian government.

Anthony Poolman, 90, who was born in Chitterne and now lives in Steeple Ashton, was presented with an Ushakov medal in recognition of his naval duties.

He was given the medal at home by Col Igor Mirtalibov, an assistant attaché to the Russian Embassy, last Wednesday.

Mr Poolman volunteered for the Royal Navy when he was just 16. He was called up the following year and served as an Able Seaman and pom-pom gunner on HMS Black Prince from 1943-1947.

He said: “I got to do what I wanted to do, rather than be called up at 18 to join the army or whatever they needed.

“I only ever went on one Arctic convoy and the whole operation took a couple of months. We were never threatened but on our way out a merchant ship was sunk and on the way back so was a destroyer.”

Shortly after completing his first convoy, HMS Black Prince was involved in the D-Day landings and then operations in the Mediterranean and Aegan Sea.

“When we were in Crete the Germans started to shell us while I was on lookout duty with someone else. A shell went straight between the two of us and made a big hole in the ship’s funnel. Luckily, it wasn’t too badly damaged,” Mr Poolman remembered.

Towards the end of the war, HMS Black Prince helped the East Indies Fleet and then the British Pacific Fleet against Japan.

Mr Poolman's family were there to see him presented with the medal, and his daughter Sally Greenhalgh said: “The presentation was very emotional. He is a very proud man and I am very proud of him.”

The Ushakov medal is Mr Poolman’s 12th and will be displayed alongside other medals from the United Kingdom, Burma, France, Italy and Russia.

His other daughter Jenny Paradise said: “I feel very proud of him and he has a companion who is very supportive of him.”

The Russian Embassy began awarding Arctic campaign medals to foreign servicemen three years ago to commemorate 70 years of victory over Nazi Germany.

Col Mirtalibov said: “In Russia, our government wants to remember and honour the veterans because what they did should never be forgotten.”

After the war, Mr Poolman worked for Ushers brewery in Trowbridge, but was also a riveter in the Spitfire Factory on Bradley Road and at a fitting shop in Bradford on Avon. He has two daughters, five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.