It was an emotional day for the family of a Second World War veteran from Shotteswell as they collected his posthumous Ushakov Medal at a ceremony in Oxford last week.
Alwyn Albert Spencer, known as Bill to his friends and family, died in 2013 and served in the Royal Navy protecting both Arctic and Atlantic Convoys in the 1940s.
He was awarded the prestigious Arctic Star medal by the British Government for his efforts during the war, and last Thursday his widow Eileen, sons Gordon and Philip and granddaughter Jade collected the Ushakov Medal from Dr Alexander Yakovenko on behalf of the Russian Government at Oxford Town Hall,
Mrs Spencer said: “It was a wonderful ceremony and most of the people presented with the medals were all in their 90s. Bill would have been very proud; it was so well organised and so friendly, he would have loved it as he was very sociable.
“Dr Yavovenko spoke to everybody and at the end they played both the British and Russian national anthems so it was quite emotional because this happened at least 70 years ago.”
The Ushakov Medal is named after the famous Russian naval commander Fyodor Ushakov, who never lost a battle or ship under his command.
