Arctic convoy hero to seek war medal after bill for tin hat

Mr Tomlinson, now aged 87, was one of the brave sailors who battled through freezing seas to deliver crucial supplies to Russia during the Second World War.

He worked as a gun layer – who controls the angle of elevation of a gun – aboard HMS Dorchester, a battle ship that was protecting the convoys, and watched in horror as German submarines sank other ships in the flotilla as he fired on the enemy.

More than 3,000 seamen were killed in the 78 convoys that delivered supplies to the Red Army.

Mr Tomlinson, a great grandfather and widower, of Musk Lane West, Gornal, said that he joined the navy near the start of the war after an incident when he was in the Home Guard and the Germans dropped bombs on the waterworks in Dudley. "I took my tin hat off and threw it on top of an incendiary bomb and was really proud of myself," he said.

"I thought I'd get some recognition for it – but all I got was a chit saying I owed for the cost of the tin hat.

"I can't remember how much it was but I thought it was disgusting.

"So I decided I'd join the navy and see if I could get recognition another way."

Mr Tomlinson went on to survive the gruelling journey to Russia aboard HMS Dorchester.

"We were circling the convoy to protect it but we would look across and see another of our ships blown up – the German's were devils at watching until we were out of the way," he said.

"We'd just see a big black blotch from the smoke and know that people were losing their lives and it was disaster.

"We fired on German ships and submarines and sank some of them.

"It was terrifying and every time a wave came over the ship, we had to scrape the ice off the guns.

"But if you put your hands on it, it would burn your fingers off."

Dudley widow Phyllis Coyle, aged 84, carried on a campaign launched by her late husband, Mick, for those who took part in the arctic convoys to get the recognition they deserved.

Mr Coyle, who died aged 85 two years ago, was a stoker with the Royal Navy from 1942 to 1947 and sailed with four convoys to Russia.

And, following the success of the campaign, Mr Tomlinson plans to apply for the Arctic Convoy Star.

He said: "I've tried to blot the memory from my mind – but there are still times I wake up and it comes back vividly.

"It's taken 70 years but I think it's right we now get that recognition."