It was a momentous day for Bushmills as Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh arrived to unveil a statue of one of the town's most famous sons.
The Royal party travelled to Bushmills Village where they attended an Act of Remembrance and heard a short address by Leonard Quigg, great nephew of Robert Quigg.
The Queen unveiled a bronze statue of Robert Quigg, VC and a short time later the Duke of Edinburgh unveiled a Victoria Cross commemorative stone.
The Robert Quigg VC Commemoration Society was established by Robert Thompson in October 2014 to raise funds by public subscription to erect a sculpture of Robert Quigg VC in Bushmills. The project has cost almost £60,000 and the majority of the money has been contributed by the local community.
The bronze sculpture was made by the Scottish sculptor, David Annand who has worked on several high profile public sculptures of famous people, including the motorcycle rider Robert Dunlop in Ballymoney, and Thomas ‘Todger’ Jones VC in Runcorn, Cheshire. During the ceremony the Queen met descendants of the men Robert Quigg rescued on the Somme in 1916.