Russian medal honours William's role in convoys

William Pender, a veteran of the Second World War's Arctic Convoys, has received a medal from the Russian Government in recognition of his wartime service.

Mr Pender, 89, from Deans in Livingston, was invited to Edinburgh's Russian Consulate to receive a medal from Consul General, Sergey Krutikov, for his Royal Navy service.

It is the fourth commemorative medal he has received from Russia for his work on the convoys, which carried vital supplies to and from the country during the war.

Mr Pender said: "The Russian Consulate in Edinburgh phoned me and asked if we'd like to come in because there was a medal due. It was a very good day indeed – they were very hospitable."

He said the Arctic Convoys had been incredibly difficult: "It was very rough indeed. I was more sorry for the deck hands with the cold but I was down in the wireless office, I was a telegraph operator, which was rather more comfortable and warm."

Attach at the Consulate, Timofey Kunitsky said: "From 1990 the Soviet Government started to issue these commemorative medals and everybody who was involved in the war on our side was to receive them.

"This one is the medal commemorating the 65th anniversary of victory. It's important to give these veterans their medals because it's a very important sign of us being allies during the war and it's a way for us to pay tribute to these people."

Mr Pender went on to serve in Burma, Malaya and the Mediterranean, and was awarded the freedom of Valletta in Malta for his service during Operation Pedestal, which got vital supplies to the island.

His daughter, Esther Hart, said: "It means a lot to him because there were terrible conditions on the Arctic Convoys, freezing cold and if anybody fell overboard, it was seconds before they died, they had no chance. The Russians really have recognised the service that these men gave for the Arctic Convoy."

Mr Pender was born and bred in Livingston, working as a dispatch clerk at a firm in Edinburgh before joining the navy.

He met wife Esther at a dance at the Labour Hall in Bathgate and they were married in Livingston in 1943. Esther, sadly, died in 2005.

After the war he returned to working as a dispatch clerk, and went on to work at British Leyland. He also served as a county councillor for West Lothian for many years, and was a JP. As well as five children, he now has eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.