A STATUE in honour of an Anglesey-born war hero has been unveiled on the island.

On October 22, Sailors and Naval leaders joined villagers for a special ceremony in Rhosneigr to admire the towering sculpture of Admiral Sir Max Horton.

Placed near the pumping station, the statue has been created by Liverpudlian sculptor Terry MacDonald.

From November 1942 until the end of The Second World War, Admiral Horton served as Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches, directing the Allied response to the German submarines from his headquarters in Liverpool.

That threat was as its peak in the autumn and winter of 1942-43 but some of the tactical changes made by the admiral – notably forming dedicated units of U-boat hunters (support groups) to accompany convoys and hound enemy boats to destruction.

Those groups were to play key roles in March, April and May 1943 as the tide turned and the U-boats suffered losses from which they would never recover. On May 24, the commander of the German Navy, Karl Dönitz, called off the battle.

The German submarine threat never went away until the war’s end, but the UK’s lifeline was never severely threatened. Admiral Horton remained at the helm of Western Approaches until it was dissolved in the summer of 1945, overseeing the surrender of more than 150 German submarines. He died six years later, aged 67.

Over the past decade, villagers in Rhosneigr have made an effort to revive his name, firstly with a memorial plaque at the library and now with the statue.

Admiral Horton spent years in the village, with his parents once owning the Maelog Lake Hotel which still stands today as the Oyster Catcher restaurant.

On October 22, the statue of Admiral Horton was unveiled by Captain Ian Wylie RN of the Submarine Service.

It had been through the dedicated efforts of Llanfaelog Community Council chair Gwyneth Parry, who took on the task of bringing Admiral Horton home, that Captain Ian made a special presentation with a set of Submariner’s Dolphins to her as a sign of Submariner friendship.

“This really is a special day for Rhosneigr and me,” said Mrs Parry. “It’s been two and half years of hard work, I’ve been determined to bring him here, I feel I’ve known him all my life. Thank you everyone for coming.”