Around 50 British veterans gathered at the war memorial in the town of Bootle, near the northwest English city of Liverpool, to honour hero Captain Johnnie Walker.

They were joined by naval chiefs, sailors and cadets as well as local clergy, dignitaries and members of the public.

Walker played a pivotal role in helping the allies win the Battle of the Atlantic, which saw Britain's navy forced into protecting merchant ships from German submarines and warships.

Captain Johnnie Walker's grandson, Patrick Walker -- himself a Royal Navy submariner -- said the memorial service had made him feel "proud but humble."

"I'm full of respect and admiration for all the veterans here because they went through something that our generation has never had to," he said.

The event was part of a six-day programme of Battle of the Atlantic commemorations that began Wednesday and were being held in and around Liverpool. A commemoration service was to take place at the city's Anglican Cathedral on Sunday.

Navy chiefs had said that these would be last official commemorations of the battle.

The battle took place between September 1939 and May 1945 but was effectively won in May 1943, when the German navy withdrew its U-boats from North Atlantic convoy routes following heavy losses.

About 30,000 merchant seamen, 8,000 Allied servicemen and 6,000 coastal command personnel were killed in the battle as well as some 29,000 German submariners.

Saturday's commemorations were held in Bootle because Captain Walker's 36th Escort Group was based at the town's Galdstone Dock, five miles (eight kilometres) from the Battle of the Atlantic command in Liverpool.

SPACE.WIRE