A clergyman who spent more than 40 years bringing hope to sailors a long way from home has picked up an award.

The Reverend Bill Christianson from Southfields recently retired as head of the Mission to Seafarers - an organisation that cares for merchant seamen of every faith and nationality in 300 ports across the world.

And the Wimbledon Park Road resident’s decades of dedication have now been recognised by the Merchant Navy Medal for Exceptional Service.

The mission’s recent work included coming to the aid of a Phillipino sailor who picked up a newspaper in a foreign port to see pictures of his wife and children clinging to wreckage after a natural disaster in their home country. The mission helped the sailor to track down his family and confirm they were alright.

Mr Christianson also served as a chaplain on the QE2 during the 1970s. He is still in touch with many of the sailors he provided assistance to, and described them as “amazing” people.

He was awarded his medal by Admiral Lord West of Spithead in a ceremony at Trinity House in central London last month.

Other recipients of the prize, which is given by a charitable trust every two years, included Captain Peter Stapleton who used water hoses and planks of wood to defend his ship from attack by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden in May this year.

Captain Matthew Easton, chairman of the Merchant Navy Medal, said: “The medal offers an invaluable and prestigious means of recognising seafarers of exceptional merit, while highlighting the importance and value of the maritime industry.

“Each year the judges have to select the recipients from an outstanding selection of high calibre nominees. These people are very special, acting as a source of inspiration for those working in the Merchant Navy and a beacon for those considering a career in the sector.”