Widow receives husband's medal awarded for his wartime service

Arthur Weeks, who died in 1974, spent time in British convoys carrying supplies to Russian ports in the Arctic Circle, a notably terrifying and dangerous journey.

His wife, Peggy Weeks, 87, received the medal on his behalf and fondly remembers meeting him after the war.

Arthur was a science teacher at Rydon Community College, Storrington, before the war began and then returned from 1946 to 1974.The pair met in 1947, when they were both teachers at the school.

Peggy, of Shooting Field, Steyning, said: “We met, we loved, we fell in love, we married.”

They had five children together, and Peggy now has 12 grandchildren and one great grand-daughter.

Speaking of her late husband, she said: “He was slow and steady, reliable and understanding. He taught science and gardening and bee-keeping, though he later found out he was allergic to bee stings. When he was at war, Mr Bundie, the headmaster, got all the children to write to him.”

Peggy, who later taught at Steyning Grammar School, added: “The men have only just been recognised and he would have been very pleased to receive the medal.

“So many men died of cold, it was bitterly cold and if you fell overboard, that was it.”

Arthur originally came from Bristol and was born in 1910, he volunteered for the navy when war broke out and was discharged in 1946.

The Arctic Star Medal has been a long time coming for the men and recognises operational service in the Arctic Circle.