Source 4.1: Summary and analysis
The article called “Ushakov medal for Arctic convoy veterans” was published on the 19th of June 2013. In May 2012 when the Russian Government requested permission to award the Ushakov Medal to British veterans of the Arctic Convoys including Leo Gradwell. British laws do not permit a British citizen to accept a Russian military medal and there was deep concern in the British Military, that Lt Leo Gradwell, despite achieving the objective of Convoy PQ17, had directly ignored a military instruction, an offence tantamount to treason. Nevertheless, given the passage of time, and the insistence of the Russian government an exception was made and the medals were presented in person by President Putin in London on 16 June 2013. Putin described what Lt Leo Gradwell and others did on convoys across the Atlantic, as truly heroic and it humbled to give them the Ushakov Medal.
There is no author listed for this article. It was published on the Fleet Air Arm Officers Association’s website. This source is intended to highlight how long it took for the UK government to acknowledge the actions of Lt Leo Gradwell and others, highlighting the problem because he had directly disobeyed military orders. The limitations are that there is no …show more content…
In brief it shows that in 2012, David Cameron eventually announced that veterans of the Arctic convoys including Leo Gradwell for what they did in keeping supply lines open to Russian ports including Murmansk and Archangel. It took the British government so long (decades) to recognise what these people did, and only a few of the veterans still survived. This was because, whilst the Admiral who issued the order to “scatter” was still alive, it was unimaginable to recognise any military servant, who had disobeyed orders, as worthy of receiving a
The article called “Ushakov medal for Arctic convoy veterans” was published on the 19th of June 2013. In May 2012 when the Russian Government requested permission to award the Ushakov Medal to British veterans of the Arctic Convoys including Leo Gradwell. British laws do not permit a British citizen to accept a Russian military medal and there was deep concern in the British Military, that Lt Leo Gradwell, despite achieving the objective of Convoy PQ17, had directly ignored a military instruction, an offence tantamount to treason. Nevertheless, given the passage of time, and the insistence of the Russian government an exception was made and the medals were presented in person by President Putin in London on 16 June 2013. Putin described what Lt Leo Gradwell and others did on convoys across the Atlantic, as truly heroic and it humbled to give them the Ushakov Medal.
There is no author listed for this article. It was published on the Fleet Air Arm Officers Association’s website. This source is intended to highlight how long it took for the UK government to acknowledge the actions of Lt Leo Gradwell and others, highlighting the problem because he had directly disobeyed military orders. The limitations are that there is no …show more content…
In brief it shows that in 2012, David Cameron eventually announced that veterans of the Arctic convoys including Leo Gradwell for what they did in keeping supply lines open to Russian ports including Murmansk and Archangel. It took the British government so long (decades) to recognise what these people did, and only a few of the veterans still survived. This was because, whilst the Admiral who issued the order to “scatter” was still alive, it was unimaginable to recognise any military servant, who had disobeyed orders, as worthy of receiving a