ROBERT CHARLES/ Fairfax NZ

HUMBLE SERVANT: Arctic Star recipient Walt Siddall, of Bell Block, describes missions to the polar region as ‘‘the worst trip in the world’’

ROBERT CHARLES

Artic Star recipient Walt Siddell of Bell Block.

If it weren’t for his wife, Iris, Walt Siddall may never have received the Arctic Star medal recognising his service in the British Royal Navy during World War II.

It was Mrs Siddall who filled out the application form for her husband of 63 years because she was only too aware of what he experienced and the impact it had on him.

“He is a shy man who doesn’t like to cause a bother,” she said.

When Mrs Siddall found out about the medal, introduced last year, she told her husband that she was going to apply on his behalf. “I said to him ‘you’ve earned it, Walt’.”

Mr Siddall, 90, of Bell Block, said that when his Arctic Star arrived in the mail it brought back stark memories of a time in his life that he found difficult to forget.

“It was the worst trip in the world,” he said. Originally from Doncaster in England, Mr Siddall completed about 10 missions to the Arctic Circle during a period of two years. Each mission lasted about three weeks.

He was prompted to talk about his award after reading about Kaiapoi man Ray Hastings, a fellow recipient of the Artic Star in Saturday’s Taranaki Daily News.

The medal is awarded to members of the British Armed Forces and Merchant Navy who served in the Arctic Circle during World War II.

Mr Siddall spent four years in the Royal Navy but recalled his time on the HMS Milne with little joy. “It still makes me shiver, that place.”

Mr Siddall said he enjoyed the camaraderie on board and the friendships forged by the shared experience of the unrelenting cold and isolation.

The father of four has also received four medals from Russia recognising his service in the Arctic. The first was presented to him by the Russian ambassador to New Zealand at a ceremony at the New Plymouth Returned Services Association in 1989. The British have also awarded him the Africa Star and the Atlantic Star medals.

He said he wore his medals when attending Anzac Day commemorations but rules dictated that he could not wear his Russian and British medals at the same time.

The end of World War II marked the beginning of a new chapter in the Siddalls’ lives.

They married in 1949 and emigrated to New Zealand six years later. They started out in Dunedin where Mr Siddall worked as a builder, but the winters there put them off so they made the move to Taranaki, the couple said.

The New Zealand Defence Force doesn’t hold figures on the British-awarded Arctic Star holders who reside here, but it has received 15 applications to date from New Zealand citizens who believe they are eligible for the award.

Deena Coster is a Witt journalism student

via Blogger http://www.h16613.com/2013/07/taranaki-man-gets-his-medal-medal.html