Churchill typified the strength of character of the British people and Eisenhower was the commander of the Anglo-American invasion of North Africa, which turned the tide of war. And Gibraltar played a leading role.

Gibraltar and its people not only endured great sacrifice but survived a mass evacuation when the military operation against Nazi Germany came

first.Inside the Rock, a 'city within a city' was built, with its own hospital, power and water supplies etc to help the Allied cause.

And it was in Gibraltar that the major combined Anglo-American operation to invade North Africa was largely planned, with General Eisenhower put in command. In recent years, I was once shown the headquarters of Eisenhower inside a tunnel which was accessed from Her Majesty's dockyard and naval base.

The vital role played by Gibraltar, with leaders like Churchill and Eisenhower in the forefront, helped in no small measure to win the fight for freedom and democracy.

In Gibraltar today, we have Winston Churchill Avenue which is largely abandoned when we ought to build a statue of Churchill on the roundabout opposite the Cross of Sacrifice to remember such a great wartime leader.

And at Ragged Staff Gates, on another roundabout there and near where Eisenhower initiated and commanded Operation Torch to help win the war, we should build a statute in memory of Eisenhower, who went on to become President of the United States.

Why don't we put our thinking caps on and get such a project going, so that on the 75th anniversary of the Second World War we can show the western world the impotance of Gibraltar and its people, and all those who put up a gallant fight from here, in times of need, so that freedom and democracy could win the day.

26-02-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR