IN Winston Churchill’s words, the Second World War Arctic convoys were the “worst journeys in the world”.

Towering seas, relentless ice spray and the darkness of polar winter would have been bad enough, but the unforgiving presence of U-boats led British sailors to call it the “hell run”.

Bill Sunderland was one of those sailors and it took the British government more than 60 years to acknowledge the extraordinary bravery displayed by him and his colleagues.

Sadly, just months after being awarded the medal he waited for so long, Bill passed away.

The guard of honour send-off he received yesterday shows just how much he will be missed, but at least there is some consolation in knowing that he lived long enough to be finally rewarded for his valour.