Former MoD Corsham officer Matthew James Lally, who received the Arctic Star medal for his service in the Second World War, has died aged 93.

Born to an Irish Catholic family in County Mayo, he served in the British Royal Navy for six years, and had a distinguished career in the civil service.

During the war he served on board the Nelson-class battleship HMS Rodney, and was part of the perilous Arctic Convoy missions to deliver crucial supplies to Russian forces, famously described by Winston Churchill as “the worst journey in the world”.

Last year he received the Arctic Star medal, in recognition of his service on the convoys.

After his family moved to Belfast in the late 1920s he joined the navy in 1938, and was posted to Liverpool and then Devonport in Plymouth.

While serving on HMS Rodney he survived a direct hit by an enemy bomb, which ripped through the ship, injuring fellow crewmen, but failed to detonate, before being posted to the Arctic for the dangerous convoy missions.

In 1946 he left the Navy and joined the Ministry of Pensions, where he met his future wife Norah. They were married in Blackpool a year later, before returning to Belfast where they raised three children, Matthew, Norah and Tom.

In 1957 he transferred to the MoD in Durham, before moving to Copenacre in Corsham, where he served as an assistant supply transport officer. He also spent some time at MoD Foxhill in Bath, before retiring in 1980.

A keen gardener, he continued to work part-time into his retirement, at both the former Gateway supermarket in the town and tending the gardens at the former Stagecoach motel.

He maintained a keen interest in military history, but disliked talking about his own experiences, instead writing a personal account of the war, which is now in the possession of his family.

Six years ago he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and, following a short illness, died at the Royal United Hospital in Bath on June 30, surrounded by his family.

He leaves his wife, three children, seven grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren and family in Canada, Ireland and the UK.

A date for his funeral has not yet been confirmed, but a collection will be taken for the Alzheimer’s Society. For details, contact FW Jones Funeral Directors on (01249) 652525.