A Second World War veteran who helped deliver a ship, sent from Churchill and Roosevelt to Stalin, has been awarded a Russian military medal.

John Winslade, 86, of Coveham Crescent, Cobham, signed up to the Merchant Navy when he was just 15.

He served as part of an Arctic convoy, from 1944 until the end of the Second World War in 1945, in a U-Boat hunter which helped safely deliver a ship, the Milwaukee, to Stalin.

On Tuesday, September 23, Colonel Maxim Elovik, a military Attaché from the Russian Embassy, presented him with the Medal of Ushakov for courage and bravery.

The Russian Embassy originally invited the grandfather of four, and great grandfather of one, to the embassy to receive his medal.

However, because he is no longer very mobile, a ceremony was held at Mr Winslade's house, attended by his three children.

Mr Winslade spoke highly of Colonel Elovik, but was disappointed he did not want any of the biscuits he bought for him.

Mr Winslade, whose wife passed away in 2001, said: "I've never had this before, the medal is terrific. It's a lovely one, a nice blue colour, with a silver chain.

"Having this medal, I'm going to wear it with pride and wear it for the shipmates who died."

Colonel Elovik told Mr Winslade, a resident of Cobham for 51 years, as he presented him with the medal: "You're a brave man and you did a lot for Russia."

The medal will join the 13 on a wall in Mr Winslade's living room, alongside badges and photographs of the men he served with.

The Medal of Ushakov is a Soviet military award created on March 3, 1944 and was named in honour of Russian Admiral Fyodor Ushakov who never lost a battle and was the patron saint of the Russian Navy.