Plans to erect navalstatue at Ebrington

The statue will be modelled on a similar memorial known as the Sailor Statue - which is located in Halifax, Canada.

Local regeneration company ILEX, which is responsible for the former naval base at Ebrington has agreed the project in principle.

However, in early 2011 the ILEX Board was cautioned that the ‘Universal Mariner’ project was “a sensitive issue where a number of aspects have to be fully considered.”

In March 2011 ILEX agreed that the location at Ebrington “might be the way forward, if related conditions were acceptable” and later wrote to the RNA outlining the conditions for the statue’s location at Ebrington and “in particular the need to ensure that the shared space principles were fully adhered to.”

The RNA has been receiving donations from ex-servicemen around the world who want to see a commemorative statue at Ebrington which has extremely strong links with the Royal Navy.

During WW2 when Londonderry played a pivotal role in the Battle of the Atlantic Ebrington was the intended target during a botched bombing raid by the Luftwaffe.

The former army base was taken over by the Royal Navy in December 1940 and renamed HMS Ferret. It became the main base for all naval operations covering the Western Approaches and was to become the main Royal Navy base for anti-submarine operations during the Second World War.

In 1947 it was decided that the Base would become a Joint Anti-submarine Training Base along with the Fleet Air Arm.

The local RNA now wishes to replicate the Atlantic Chief and Petty Officers’ Association of Canada’s Sailor Statue at Halifax in the former naval base in Londonderry with a provisional unveiling to take place during May in Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013.