Death of Arctic Convoy Veteran in England: "The Worst Journey in the World"

From the Feb. 26, 2013, Grimsby (U.K.) Telegraph "Tribute  to war veteran Neville Boden who battled 'the worst journey in the world'...and survived

Former Merchant Navy officer Neville Boden, who sailed on "notoriously treacherous Arctic Convoys" has died at age 86.  He died Feb. 16th after a long illness.

During the war, he served on the MV Marathon carrying aircraft fuel to the Soviet Union in 1943, facing icy conditions, the threat of constant attack from the air and, of course, German U-boats.  Winston Churchill called it "The worst journey in the world."  Mr. Boden also served on the HMLSI Empire Lance, a ship that brought British troops to Normandy during the D-Day landings.  He also sailed on ships from the United States and Caribbean carrying petrol before they joined the Arctic Convoy.

He was born in Lancaster in 1926

Last year, one of the Arctic Veterans was denied the Russian Silver Ushakov Medal for Bravery because of British rules concerning military decorations.

--GreGen