A Navy war veteran died just an hour and a half after finally being handed his medal for serving in the Arctic Convoys, the Western Daily Press can reveal.
Herbert Geoffrey Jacobs, from Box, received his newly-minted medal a fortnight or so before the official medal-giving ceremony last week, after a desperate plea from his son Mike.
The 89-year-old, who was known to everyone in the village as Geoff, sailed in the treacherous seas from Scotland to northern Russia with the Royal Navy during the war. He passed away having received his medal in the post that morning, his son said.
After joining the Navy as a 16-year-old in 1939, he served on board the HMS Sheffield, which was involved in a famous sea battle with the Bismarck, as well as being heavily involved in the Arctic Convoys.
He later went on to serve on board HMS Locust, taking part in many covert operations across the Channel on the coast of Nazi-controlled France.
The young sailor, who moved to Corsham, after the war to work on the Royal Arthur, was also on board a ship taking tanks to D-Day, when a shell missed his head by inches.
The Government's decision to issue medals for those who took part in the Arctic Convoys was welcomed by veterans' groups, but only took place after decades of campaigning for the recognition. The sailors worked to keep supplies flowing to the Soviet Union, and battled fearsome conditions in the Arctic Seas off the coast of Norway, as well as the ever-present peril of German U-boats.
The Arctic Star was awarded for the first time this year, and Mr Jacobs received his just in time. His son Mike, who still lives near Corsham, said: "I applied on his behalf earlier this year, but heard nothing.
"I then saw David Cameron on the television announcing it, so I got back in touch.
"But by the end of April, my dad was fading fast, and I got on to them again and told them his life was coming to an end. It came in the post the next day, and it was really special.
"He got to hold it, he got to see it, he knew what it was, what it was for and what it meant. An hour and a half later he passed away.
"We had the funeral last week and I got a Royal Marine chap to play the Last Post, and it was very special.
"He talked about the Arctic Convoys a lot, and he had lots of photos with some 'frost' on the ships. He was on board HMS Locust, which was involved in lots of covert missions.
"He was brought up in Suffolk and, after the war, was posted to HMS Royal Arthur when it moved to Corsham. One of his fellow trainers was a young Philip Mountbatten, who went on to become the Duke of Edinburgh," he added.
"He organised the football team there, and put the young Mountbatten in goal – because he wasn't very good."
Mr Jacobs married a local Wiltshire girl, Barbara Hanson, and settled down to life in the Box area as a builder, raising two boys, Mike and Tony. He died a much-loved grandfather and great-grandfather, famous locally for the gatherings at his house on Christmas morning.
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