Meeting at the Northern Convoys International Centre: our guest is the nephew of a participant of the Northern Convoys from Great Britain

A significant meeting took place on 21 May 2025 at the "Northern Convoys International Centre" Foundation. The Director of the Foundation Vladimir Solomonov and our colleague from St. Petersburg University Elena Elts in a friendly atmosphere told about the activities of the Foundation to John Laughland, the son of a World War II veteran and nephew of a participant of the Northern Convoys. Mr Laughland came to St. Petersburg to participate in the 13th St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.

The Northern Convoys 1941-1945 is a subject that has been personal to John Laughland since childhood: his father fought in the Second World War from 1939, became a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force and took part in the Battle of the Atlantic; he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (a British military honour). Our guest's uncle, also John Laughland, served in the Navy and was killed at the age of 19 in 1944 when his ship, the British sloop HMS Kite, while on guard of the Northern Convoy JW 59, was attacked by an enemy submarine and sank within a minute.

You can find out more about Northern Convoys member John Laughland and the sinking of the sloop HMS Kite in our gallery (link ). Information about his uncle for our gallery was previously given to us by John Laughland.

In 2012, the sister of Northern Convoys participant John Laughland, Mrs Pamela Norman, received the Arctic Star Medal for her fallen brother. Mrs Norman, who turned 102 in February 2025, until recently wore the medal in memory of her brother every year on Remembrance Sunday. Our Foundation had previously sent a message of congratulations to Pamela Norman in honour of her 102nd birthday.

Thus, the memory of the Northern Convoys is part of the family history of our guest, John Laughland, who participates in commemorative events during his visits to Russia. In 2015, Mr Laughland took part in the Immortal Regiment procession in Moscow and spoke about his family's history to Russia Today TV channel. RT's 2015 publication can be viewed here.

Mr Laughland thanked the Foundation for its warm welcome and expressed confidence that the work carried out by our organisation will be useful in building international ties based on the historical memory that needs to be preserved and that is equally cherished in the families of Northern Convoys veterans from different countries.

We thank John Laughland for his visit to the Northern Convoys International Centre, a warm meeting and conversation, and look forward to continuing our dialogue on the topic of the memory of the Northern Convoys.