The Bear remembers

The Russian convoys have been marked out as an arena where was a founder, the WM in 1997, as well as having been WM of Royal numerous acts of courage and heroism were played out, yet they were Lebanon Lodge in 1995.. largely overshadowed by events which took place in Western Europe.

Not so by the Russians . . . . and so it turned, one quiet Tuesday, into a very extraordinary day!

Putin’s Envoy – 5 minutes away!! “It was a mundane Tuesday lunchtime in October when the phone rang,” writes Nigel Belchamber. “Unknown mobile showed on caller ID. The heavily-accented voice said, ‘My name is Grigorij. I am a diplomat at the Russian Embassy. Was your father Peter Thomas Belchamber?’ Was this a code?

“Having confirmed Peter was indeed my father, Grigorij said, ‘I am around the corner. May I call to see you now?’ At least he didn’t call me comrade!

“Arriving on my doorstep five minutes later, I was amazed when Grigorij presented me with the Ushakov Medal. This ranks fourth in precedence of Russian medals and the metal used is their equivalent of sterling silver. In the presentation box next to the medal was the official citation. The cherry on the cake was yet to come. The citation was signed personally by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.”

Via Lucis Peter Belchamber (right) was an active mason for nearly fifty years and a member of Via Lucis Lodge, of which his son Nigel

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Torpedoed The background to this story was that during WWII, the late Peter Belchamber served in the on the Russian convoys. On 20 , the , HMS Somali, was torpedoed by U- 703 while covering Convoy QP 14. She was hit in her engine room and, although taken under tow by the destroyer Ashanti, she sank five days later after heavy weather broke her back. Of the 102 men on board, only 35 were rescued from the Arctic waters. Peter was one of the survivors.

“Before his death in 2012 aged 91,” continued Nigel, “my father knew that he was due to be awarded the Arctic Star. It posthumously arrived in the mail. He also knew he had been nominated to receive a medal from the Russian Federation in recognition and gratitude for his service. Without the convoys, the , as it was then, would have collapsed and despite the intervening Cold War, the country never lost sight of the UK’s wartime aid.”

Left, Putin’s signature

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“I was so proud to receive the medal on his behalf,” said Nigel. “I will keep it with his many others.”

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The Ushakov Medal The Admiral Ushakov medal was named after Fyodor Ushakov (1745- 1817) who served in the . After serving in the First Russo- Turkish War, he commanded Catherine II's own yacht and later defended Russian merchant ships in the Mediterranean from Royal Navy attacks.

After the annexed Crimea in 1783, Ushakov personally supervised the construction of a naval base in . During the Second Russo-Turkish War (1787–92), he brilliantly defeated the Turks in four battles demonstrating the excellence of his innovative doctrines in the art of naval fighting.

In 1798, he was promoted to full admiral and given command of a squadron which sailed to the Mediterranean via Constantinople, where it joined with a Turkish squadron. The Russian-Turkish fleet then operated under Ushakov's command in the War of the Second Coalition against France.

Tsar Paul, in his capacity as the Grand Master of the Order of St John, ordered Ushakov to proceed to , which a British fleet under Nelson had besieged to no effect. Ushakov was senior in rank to Nelson, to which Nelson objected and suggested dispatching the Russian squadron to Egypt instead. ‘Testimony of State Award Russian Federation’.

Brewing conflict between the commanders was prevented by Ushakov's being recalled to in 1800, where the new Emperor, Alexander I, failed to appreciate his victories. Ushakov resigned command in 1807. He was asked to command the local militia Links to the sinking to HMS Somali; during the Patriotic War of 1812 but declined. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Somali_(F33) http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/2189.html In command for 43 naval battles, he lost none; nor even a single ship. http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsRussianConvoys.htm

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