RETIRED firefighter Dennis Seignot has been honoured after almost 70 years for his role in the infamous Arctic convoys of the Second World War that kept supplies flowing to the Soviet Union.

The Arctic Star medal, being awarded this year for the first time after a decades-long nationwide campaign earned the backing of David Cameron, arrived by post last Thursday at the 86-year-old's Farnham home.

Dennis, who joined the Royal Navy aged just 16 and one month, in May 1943, is one of only 400 or so veterans still alive to receive it, of the thousands that battled extreme weather and German bombardment to help keep the Russian war effort going.

Three thousand men died, 85 merchant vessels were lost and 16 warships sunk, undergoing what Winston Churchill described as "the worst journey in the world".

For full story, see this week's Farnham Herald.