The grandson of a Royal Navy veteran decorated by the Russians for his work in the perilous Arctic convoys hopes to display his grandfather’s medals in Clydebank museum.


Aircraftman George Stone died recently aged 91 and his family hope the bravery of the former aircraft engineer and his colleagues can be commemorated by displaying his medals in the town for future generations.


Battling sub-zero conditions and attacks from German aircraft and submarines, Allied ships sailed from Scotland to the USSR carrying vital supplies of food and weapons during between 1941 and 1945, with the loss of more than 3,000 sailors.


George survived not only the brutal convoy missions but also being torpedoed by a German U-boat while taking part in Operation Goodwood, the hunt for the German battleship Tirpitz, which was tasked with destroying the Arctic convoys.


In 2014, he was one of the surviving Scottish veterans decorated with the Ushakov Medal by Russia’s Consul General Andrey Pritsepov in a special ceremony at Glasgow City Chambers.


The honour is named after Fydor Ushakov, an 18th century naval commander who never lost a battle. The medal was first created in 1944 for those who demonstrated courage and prowess at sea. George was previously decorated by the British government for his service in the Arctic Circle.


George told the Post at the time he was “pleased” with the Russian medal and spoke candidly of his time on the convoys, saying it was “freezing and we were always terrified of U-boat strikes”.


In November 1944, when taking part in the mission which sunk the Tirpitz, George’s aircraft carrier, the HMS Nabob, was hit by a torpedo.


He said: “There was quite the fleet: about eight cruisers, a battleship, and about 36 destroyers all up for the Tirpitz. HMS Nabob ended up getting torpedoed along with a minor ship, which ran alongside of us in case fighters went into the sea. The minor sunk right away. We had to abandon ship and left part of the crew, Canadians, back on it.”


The attack claimed the lives of 21 crew but five days later, the damaged HMS Nabob made it to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.


His grandson, David Greer, told the Post: “We are all extremely proud of his achievements during the war in extreme and harsh conditions. I’m keen that his achievements and those of people from the same generation are remembered.


“The medals are going to be handed to me and I think the best thing would be for them to go on display in the museum in the Town Hall so that people can understand what my grandpa and others went through.”


George’s daughter, Irene Greer, said her dad had opened up about this time in the convoys after being awarded the Ushakov medal.


She said: “We never knew much about it until he started to talk then. He was proud to get the medals. One thing he told us was when the planes were taking off from the aircraft carrier, some of the guys had to sit on the wings to steady them then jump off when they took off. I thought that was incredible.”


Irene said her dad would be sadly missed.


He died on Saturday, January 23, in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital after being admitted following a fall, which was complicated by a chest infection.


Irene said: “It was a shock, we didn’t expect it. We’d been up in the morning and sat with him then. I patted his hand and said, ‘Right dad, we’re just going to because you’re sleeping, see you tomorrow’ and that was the last he spoke to me.”


Born in Bristol, George joined the Royal Navy at 18 in 1942 and left in 1946, when he married Lilian Currie, from Possilpark.

The couple moved to Peterson Park in Yoker and stayed for more than half a century in the same house. George worked as an engineer with Leyland and later Albion Motors in Scotstoun.

They had two daughters, Irene and Rosalind, and went on to have four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.


A keen keyboard player in his younger days, he also taught himself to play accordion and could play music by ear.


His funeral will take place on Tuesday February 9 at Dalnottar Cemetery, 11.30am. Prior to the ceremony, at 11.10am the funeral cortege will pass the family home at Peterson Park.