It was a typical May Sunday morning in Moscow: almost no cars on the roads, and as for people - there were only early morning runners and those taking their dogs for a walk. Suddenly a figure quite unexpected for the early morning catches one’s eye; on the side of the road stands a participant of the Great Patriotic War. This is 92-year-old Colonel Vasily Panteleevich Mrug, in a uniform coat, with thick rows of the Orders and medals glittering from his chest, and a suitcase is next to him. Vasily Panteleevich is as regular as clockwork. He smiles and greets our car with a phrase in English: "I'm ready". Ready to go. To London.

     That was how the first day of the trip began. After picking up Vasily Panteleevich, on the way to the airport the car fetched another member of the delegation, Boris Samoilovich Golovchiner, a former front-line paratrooper, who told us that just a day ago he received another award – the Jubilee Medal “100 Years of the Red Army”. It is quite amazing to realise that the entire history of the Red Army is just a few years older than the ages of the two Red Army men, who I was fortunate enough to travel with to the Sheremetyevo airport. At the airport, we met the rest of our delegation. People around were taking photos of the veterans, even the airport staff took part in it. And then begun a farewell of a typical nature for such occasions – with Maria Semyanskaya performing touching melodies on her electric violin; there were parting words “Good journey!”, the command “Veterans, fall in!” sounded.

     When the active preparations for the trip of the Great Patriotic War’s veterans to the UK began in early March 2018, it seemed that everything was against us: the relationships between the two countries historically were poor, the requirements for visas tightened, the trip funding was insufficient, and, finally, our veterans’ health didn’t get better. Yet, despite these complications, all the veterans had nevertheless voted in favour of the trip – they had seen worse on their active service. The trip to London for our group of Russian participants in the Great Patriotic War is not just a tradition of the last few years, but also a page in history of the great generation of victors who cannot be stopped by either long trips, difficulties or the burden of years. This year seven WWII veterans visited Great Britain, of whom the oldest, Nikolay Lukyanovich Dupak, was 97-year-old while the youngest, Nikolay Konstantinovich Imchuk, was 88.

     The first day in the UK was spent for most part on the road, but the time passed quickly with such interesting company and was full of pleasant moments: a joint photo with the flight attendants on board of the Aeroflot plane; a transfer on the small electric cars through the London airport with the local staff attending to our veterans with care and understanding and also happy to have a photoshoot together at the end; hiking songs on the speed train from London to York (a city 400km to the north of the capital) under the curious gaze of ordinary British civilians who with interest listened to war song lines incomprehensible to them:

     “You wait, Elizabeth, a greeting from your friend,

      You can’t fall asleep until dawn, longing for me…”

    Upon arrival in York, we spent the rest of the evening on acquaintanceship with York and first learned that it is mortally dangerous for an armed Scotsman to be inside the perfectly preserved ancient Roman city walls! The tour was on foot and we should pay tribute to the resilience of the veterans who walked some distance to enjoy the evening sunset on the ancient bridge over the River Oose and the splendour of York Minster.

     The next day we had scheduled a morning visit to Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire County. Major Miles Blackford, the contingent commander of the Combined Cadet Force, who was awaiting dear guests in full-dress coat of the Royal Gurkha Rifles regiment, met the veterans’ bus at the college entrance. Father Wulstan, the headmaster of the college - which is situated on a territory of a Benedictine monastery - and Major Blackford not only managed to organise a very welcoming meeting for the Russian veterans but also easily connected with them despite not knowing a word of Russian. This meeting in Ampleforth was full of memorable events and will be well remembered by all the participants – both the guests, CCF cadets and the teachers: a wreath-laying ceremony at the symbolic memorial, the minutes of silence in commemoration of those who fell on the fronts of the WWII, the solemn handing of the icon of St. George the Victorious and of course a lively conversation between the youth and the former war soldiers. The war veterans, divided to attend different groups, answered many school pupils’ questions. It was noticeable that how sincerely and respectfully the young boys and girls were looking at the old soldiers sitting in front of them. Among the speakers was also a local resident, Austin Byrne, who took part in the Arctic Convoys. He told a story of a miraculous rescue by the Soviet sailors and doctors of a handful of men who survived after the British ship was torpedoed. There was also a performance of the hymn of the Russian Navy, which Ampleforth heard for the first time. It was a pleasure to conclude such a spiritual event with the appropriate songs lines:

“Then the water is like a ground to us

And the crew is a family for us

And then none of us would mind

To serve in the Navy forever”

           The second half of the day became even busier, at least as far as music is concerned, as our group of veterans met in the city of Leeds where the local Russian community prepared a gala evening dedicated to the Victory Day celebration. Children and adults took turns on stage, reading poems, singing songs, dancing. This evening was remembered with an incredible feeling of homely warmth and closeness. For Valentin Aleksandrovich Soldatov, the 89-year-old former Navy cadet from the Solovetsky Naval School for Young Sailors, one of his main interlocutors was Jane Dowson, the Lord Mayor of Leeds. At the festive, the Mayor mentioned that she preferred acquainting with men over 45. On which, the former torpedo boat’s boatswain quipped “What about men who are twice forty-five?” As one of the guests at the table observed, after that dialog a spark of sincere friendship flew between the two. All the group photos from Leeds look like snapshots of one big family made up of different generations and nations but with common values and history.

     VE Day in Great Britain is celebrated on 8 May, and is not a public holiday. As the group arrived at London’s King Cross Station, the veterans were again the centre of attention. Both station staff and passers-by did not miss the opportunity to take joint photos with the veterans in formal military dress coats wearing insignias and medals. Russian TV journalists from Channel-1 also met our delegation.

     It was also 8 May when we had one of the most memorable events of the trip – a gala reception in honour of the VE Day on HMS “Belfast” which is permanently moored on the River Thames, opposite the famous Tower Bridge. As was mentioned by Russia-loving Tim Lewin (the son of Admiral of the Fleet Terence Lewin, who took part in the Arctic Convoys and later went on to be the Chief of the Defence Staff, United Kingdom, during 1979-1982), these annual gatherings of the Allies are not just about formal smiles and handshakes on camera but valuable moments of communication for our veterans which lends hope to the continuity of the century old friendship of our peoples. During the formal reception, Alan West, a former Chief of the Naval Staff during 2002-2006, emphasised the importance of the preservation and development of the Russian-British veteran relationship.

     At one point, our front-line soldier, Anatoly Pavlovich Zhivov, approached a table with the representatives from Jamaica and offered a toast to eternal friendship, and after which had a talk and a firm handshake with the Jamaican veteran Neil Flanigan. The paths of these two veterans had crossed at HMS “Belfast”. Both are surprisingly young looking (although both are far advanced in their 90’s), both understood perfectly each other’s stories about the hardship of wartimes which they experienced first-hand as a Soviet infantryman and a RAF mechanic.

     The 8^th of May evening on board of HMS “Belfast” marked another important event – the sunset ceremony and the colours’ presentation to the veterans from Russian as a symbol of longstanding friendship. The White ensign was solemnly received by the Honoured Artist of Russia and Ukraine Nikolay Lukyanovich Dupak as the most senior of the war veterans, confidently saluting a young British Navy man and later reciting from memory several poems. The most memorable lines of which were the following:

“Oh, love and friendship, you alone

Stand undivided in this world

In happy times and in misfortunes

When we are young, when we are old.

And while our hopes and earthly pleasures

Can play their trickery on us,

A lot may vanish into thin air

But our friendship never does”

     In addition to the response message, the Russian delegation made a gift to the HMS Belfast Association presenting Timothy Lewin with the icon of the St. Righteous Warrior Feodor Ushakov. The icon depicting the canonised famous Russian admiral was brought by the former Solovetsky Naval School’s cadets, Valentin Aleksandrovich Soldatov and Aleksandr Vasilyevich Lochagin, who long before the trip thought about an appropriate present and managed to consecrate it in one of the churches in Russia.

     The warmest meetings and brightest emotions awaited the Russian veterans on the Victory Day on 9 May. The Victory Day celebration traditionally begun with the viewing of the Moscow Parade in the hotel, and then moved to the Imperial War Museum, where the group arrived for the wreath-laying ceremony at the Soviet War Memorial, built in commemoration of the 27 million citizens who perished during the war. The veterans solemnly proceeded along the park avenue with the marching song "Varyag", proudly carrying regimental colours. The wreath-laying ceremony was observed by at least several hundred people, and when it ended a lot of our compatriots lined up to have a chance to talk to the living participants and witnesses of the war. There were performances of battle songs accompanied by guitar playing, laughter, and stories about relatives and friends were told. The veterans were approached by entire families wishing just to say "thank you" to them and take a picture with the young children in their arms. One girl, a little more than a year old, was very interested in the Ushakov medal on the chest of Alexander Vasilyevich Lochagin, and those around suddenly noticed that the girl was dressed in the colours of St. Andrew's flag. The Russian veterans were also approached with congratulations by official delegations such as a group of young people headed by the Defence attaché of the Republic of Kazakhstan who, first of all, wanted to chat with their fellow countryman Vasily Panteleevich Mrug, a native of Aktobe region, Kazakhstan. Vasily Panteleevich was very glad to have this attention and to the wish of a young girl from the Kazakh group who just wanted to hold his hand while they communicate. Another symbolic moment was a meeting of the veteran paratrooper Boris Samoilovich Golovchiner with a brave paratrooper from Baltics, Igor Kondrashin, who served in Afghanistan in the 40th Army’ special forces unit. Their blue berets were easily noticeable among all those gathered, and they talked like old friends, an age difference of 50 years notwithstanding.

     In the afternoon, those celebrating the Victory Day gathered in Trafalgar Square, from where the participants of the "Immortal Regiment" walked in a compact column towards the Parliament. Nikolay Konstantinovich Imchuk who walked confidently carrying regimental colours headed the group of Russian veterans. Nikolay Imchuk amazes everyone by his stamina and amiable smile, and veterans and other participants of this solemn procession were ready to follow him without feeling tired. His life story is no less amazing as during the war Nikolay Konstantinovich had an incredible journey from when he was an 11-year-old boy, who got into a POW camp near Uman (Ukraine), to being the son of the regiment and a participant in the liberation of Ukraine, Romania, Hungary and Austria. The "Immortal Regiment" reached its destination but the celebrations did not end there: after songs and photographs opposite Westminster Abbey, the veterans were invited to a concert held at the representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo (the Russian cultural centre). The very sincere and heart-warming speeches of our compatriots filled the day with joyful emotions and created a feeling of permanent festivity.

     The final, but nevertheless remarkable and memorable, trip to Portsmouth took place on 10 May. The delegation from Russia, who was fortunate enough to enjoy unusually warm and sunny British weather for the fifth day in a row, visited the D-Day Story museum accompanied by the newly elected Lord Mayor of Portsmouth – Councillor Lee Mason, where they met their British war comrades. Lewis Trinder, a 93-year-old veteran of the Royal Navy, told Vasily Panteleevich Mrug about himself and his active stand position despite him losing his eyesight almost completely. He showed his old photographs, in on one of which he stood next to his father in 1942 and was impersonating a famous character from those times "Private Pike". Meanwhile Nikolay Lukyanovich Dupak selected himself as his interlocutor for 99-year-old Geoffrey Hayward, who took part in battles in Egypt in 1942, in the Sicilian military operation in 1943 and in the landing in Normandy. G. Hayward retained a great sense of humour and joked that being an Englishman in a Scottish division he had more problems from the fellow Scots than, perhaps, from the Germans. Nikolai Lukyanovich, with a smile on his face, instead of telling about his military exploits or how he commanded a cavalry squadron at the age of 21 and was more than once seriously injured, read a Boris Slutsky's poem "The Voice of a Friend":

“Let’s get it straight, my fellows

Don't beat around the bush

It wasn’t just the drinking

Or sitting on one’s tush

We also were preparing

To fight until we die

And to become immortals,

The voices from the sky”

     At the conclusion of both the day and the entire trip, the group of veterans boarded the famous HMS Victory, built in the second half of the 18th century and which participated in the famous Battle of Trafalgar. The ship struck everyone by its greatness and by the fact that, despite the years, it had maintained excellent condition thanks to the firmness of spirit, determination of character and acts of bravery of the people who served on this ship and who take care of it now.

     The ship had symbolically appeared as a personification of the strength and greatness of the veterans who were standing in front of her and all of whom, like this magnificent ship, are also indefeasible and steadfast, capable of surviving a deadly battle, able to always emerge from any storm, to always be a winner, and simultaneously in need of our care and attention.

     At the end, as a witness and trip organizer, I would like to share a story, which took a place on our return flight from London to Moscow (SU 2579) on 11 May at about 15:50 GMT. Observing the veterans, I have noticed that something was wrong with the veteran Col (Retd) Vasily Mrug (92), who have been eating his main course (he was sitting on 6A seat behind my 5C seat). He started gasping for air. I called our group doctor Igor Telegin for emergency. It took us several seconds to remove almost breathless Vasily Mrug’s body from his chair and put him on the floor in the aisle.

     I held his feet raised above his prostrated body according to the first aid manual, while Igor was checking whether it was heart attack (symptoms were obvious). Mrs. Kathy Mellor, who was sitting on 4C seat and later turned out to be a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, MBE from the UK, joined the first aid group quickly, and an Aeroflot flight attendant brought an oxygen mask. Kathy Mellor gave him a mouth-to-mouth. Both doctors turned the veteran on his left side, which helped to remove a piece of carrot stuck in his throat, and immediately the veteran restored his natural breathing. The oxygen mask reinforced his recovery completely. By the Lord’s mercy, we saved Vasily Mrug’s life. At the arrival, the airport ambulance team checked his condition and confirmed that he was well.

     I appreciate our combined Russo-British efforts to save Vasily Mrug’s life. It reminds me about the Arctic Convoys (Churchill called them “the worst journey in the world”). The history repeated itself on the 73rd anniversary of the VE-Day.  The Russian and British citizens were on the same craft, and the British woman was destined to rescue the Russian veteran! Hurrah!

     In this year which is declared in Russia the “Year of the Volunteer”, I would like to sincerely thank the group of our reliable assistants: Valdas Adamovichus, Andrei Beklemishev, doctor Igor Telegin, the Kalinin’s family, Irina Bormotova, Elena Mulenkova, Maria Semyanskaya, and many others of our dear friends who with their participation helped to organise the visit of Russian veterans to Great Britain. I would like to express special gratitude to our sponsors, who supported this project: PJSC Aeroflot, Sovcomflot, British Petroleum Russia and private individuals.

The authors of the article:

· The trip participant – Andrei Sergeevich Beklemishev

· The co-organiser of the Russo-British project “The Last Soldier of the WWII” – Lt. Col. (Retd.) Alexander Ivanovich Goncharov, a veteran of military service.

A link to the photo album about the trip of the Great Patriotic War veterans to Great Britain, May 06-11, 2018.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1olga32CLHAsb54mGW4udDvGl6UC6UPgd