IT was a day he thought he would never live to see but 98-year-old war veteran George Morris has finally been honoured for his bravery.

Wiping away tears, Mr Morris proudly took hold of his Arctic Star medal, presented to him by Pam Kingston from the Veterans’ Association UK at Marlborough Lodge Care Home on Friday, where his devoted partner of 20-years Edith Seward, 98, lives.

The grandfather has been waiting 70 years to get recognition of the role he played on the Arctic Convoys during the Second World War and wanted to make sure he shared the special moment with his cherished partner by his side.

He joined the war aged 21 and served during the four-year campaign from 1941-1945, transporting food and aid to Russia.

Winston Churchill reportedly called the Arctic convoys the ‘worst journey in the world’ and the battle saw more than 3,000 men lose their lives and around 87 merchant ships and 18 Royal Navy warships were sunk.

When the war ended, because of the harrowing scenes Mr Morris had witnessed and the pain of seeing his friends around him die, he was ‘hypnotised’ upon his return to Manchester as a way to clear his memory and stop him suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Why they wiped my mind clean is because you were volunteered to do things like amputations and it was horrible,” he said.

This made securing a medal more difficult as he couldn’t remember his military number along with other details, so the Veterans’ Association carried out extensive research into Mr Morris’ background during the war.

The pensioner also suffered another blow when the first Arctic Star medal delivered to him was dropped by a postman and run over.

So it was with great relief and happiness in the company of his loving partner, who he visits daily, Mr Morris, of Kennet Court, Hungerford, could finally hold the medal not only for himself but in tribute to his comrades who lost their lives.

“Seventy years I’ve been waiting for this,” an emotional Mr Morris said.

“To be honest, I never thought I would live to see the day. It’s been quite a journey.”