Arctic convoy artwork to hang in prestigious Russian museum

Tribute: Veteran commissioned painting in memory of the men who lost their lives

A painting commissioned by an Angus veteran of the Second World War Arctic convoys has been presented to the Consul General of Russia and will be displayed in a prestigious St Petersburg museum.

Murray Haddow, 92, who lives in Monifieth, served on board the destroyer HMS Caprice during the perilous journeys which took much-needed supplies, including food and weapons, to the Russian people.

Mr Haddow was involved in six of the 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945 and he still has vivid memories of the treacherous journeys from Loch Ewe near Aultbea and Scapa Flow to Russia.

More than 3,000 British sailors and airmen died between 1941 and 1945 taking part in the convoys, a vital part of Churchill’s attempts to keep Stalin in the alliance against Hitler.

Today Mr Haddow is one of just a few

“We are most grateful for this work of art which depicts the solemn beauty of the place where the convoys were formed.

surviving veterans of the convoys, and has been honoured by both the UK and Russian governments with the Arctic Star medal and Ushakov medal for his part in the campaign.

In 1999, a monument to those who lost their lives taking part in the convoys was unveiled at Cove in Wester Ross.

Mr Haddow commissioned a painting of the monument which has now been presented to the Consul General of Russia, Andrey Pritsipov, at a ceremony at the Russian Consulate in Edinburgh.

The painting will be exhibited at the new Museum of the History of the Arctic Convoys at St Petersburg’s Admiral Makarov State University.

The Consul General said: “The brotherhood in arms forged between our nations stands as an indispensable chapter of our shared and proud past.

“And we are most grateful for this work of art from the veteran Murray Haddow and family, which depicts the mood and solemn beauty of the place where the convoys were formed.”

He added: “Chronicles of the convoys are an integral part of history of Russianbritish relations.

“Last year I was delighted to take part in the official opening of the Russian Arctic Convoys Project’s exhibition centre in Aultbea and I also look forward to the opening of the Arctic Convoys Museum in St Petersburg.”

jmillar@thecourier.co.uk

ANDREY PRITSIPOV, RUSSIAN CONSUL GENERAL

Murray Haddow presents a painting of the monument to Arctic convoy dead to Russia’s Consul General Andrey Pritsipov at a ceremony in Edinburgh, alongside the artist Fiona Haddow.