George Conway

Able Seaman George Conway served on the destroyer HMS Vanoc throughout the Battle of the Atlantic, based at Liverpool's Western Approaches Command. In March 1941, his ship helped sink two of Germany's top U-boat aces — Otto Kretschmer (U-99) and Joachim Schepke (U-100) — in a single night, arguably the turning point of the early U-boat war. Conway served on Arctic convoy escort duties from 1942, enduring the extreme cold, constant threat of attack, and the heartbreak of watching merchant ships torpedoed while unable to rescue survivors. He completed 14 Atlantic crossings and 3 Arctic convoy runs without being sunk. After the war, he worked on the Liverpool docks and campaigned for recognition of Arctic convoy veterans, who finally received the Arctic Star medal in 2013.