AROUND 30 people attended an annual commemorative service on the banks of the River Usk in Newport yesterday to remember a Gwent wartime hero.

Malpas-born John Wallace Linton VC was killed when the HMS Turbulent sank off the coast of Sardinia in March 1943, after it was hit by a depth charge.

Commander 'Tubby' Linton, who was well known throughout the submarine service for his determination, died along with his crew, almost certainly as a result of Italian depth-charging. The ill-fated submarine went down sometime between March 13 and 18.

A wreath was thrown over into the river from Newport Bridge following a ten-minute service by the memorial, which is situated next to the Riverfront.

Among those in attendance were father and son Glyn and Simon Linton, whose uncle and great uncle respectively was Tubby Linton himself. They had been invited as representatives of the Linton family and had been to various other memorials across the country over the years.

Magor-based Simon Linton, 42, who was brought up and works in Newport, said it was an “honour” to have been invited.

He said: “It’s not everyone who has a hero in the family. We still don’t know what quite happened even now.

“It’s important for everyone here today and us as a family to remember him and the others who lost their lives.”

Last year, a minute's silence was held to mark the 70th anniversary of his death.

Also in attendance on Saturday were Newport's mayor Cllr Cliff Suller and his wife Christine and members of the Merchant Navy Association, which chooses a day when the tide is low to hold the memorial.

Wreaths used to be laid on the memorial itself near Newport Bridge but now drop them into the river after repeated thefts and vandalism.