A WAR hero who risked his life to deliver vital supplies to Soviet Russia is set to be given a permanent memorial in his home town.

Roy Dykes, who lived in Lynch Hill Park, Whitchurch, died on April 27 aged 96, having spent much of his later years campaigning for veterans of the Arctic Convoy Missions in the Royal Navy to be honoured with an Arctic Star medal for their bravery.

Their plight was backed by The Gazette, and in March 2013 the surviving veterans were finally presented with the medal they deserved by then Prime Minister David Cameron.

Now, Whitchurch residents are being asked to show their support for a memorial to Mr Dykes, which would take the form of a seat shaped like a ship with icebergs dividing the two sides.

The design will represent the harsh conditions Mr Dykes faced on the 16 Arctic Convoy missions he took part in on board HMS Honeysuckle, from 1941 to 1945, described by war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill as “the worst journey in the world”.

Made from substantial steel, the memorial bench is expected to last many years and each end will have an old anchor on it for dog walkers to attach their pets – a nod to Mr Dykes’ love of dogs.

Graham Burgess, a Whitchurch resident who designed the seat, said: “It will be placed pointing to the Arctic and part of the first seat will be a copy of the Arctic Medal presented to Roy.”

The project has been shortlisted by insurance company Aviva to benefit from its community fund, and if it receives enough votes, Aviva will provide the funds needed to create the bench.

Voting opened on October 21 and closes on November 18 before the finalists are announced on November 22 and the winners revealed on January 10, 2017.

To vote visit community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/view/16-1991http://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/view/16-1991.