AN SAS hero’s gallant actions have been highlighted with a high-profile royal tribute in his native Fiji, though the late Sergeant Talaiasi Labalaba has never been forgotten by comrades at the regiment’s Hereford base.

His great sacrifice, fighting off hundreds of enemy soldiers during the Battle of Mirbat in Oman in 1972, has reached a wider audience as a result of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex unveiling a statue to him as part of their 16-day tour in the southern hemisphere.

Remarkably, the Hereford connection is further strengthened by the fact that the British High Commissioner for the republic of Fiji, who greeted the royal visitors, is from the county. Melanie Hopkins, appointed to her position two years ago, comes from Ross-on-Wye, was educated at John Kyrle High School and later Hereford Sixth Form College before working in various part of the world for the Foreign Office.

Veterans of Sergeant Labalaba’s regiment keenly recall his selfless actions in holding off 250 Marxist guerrillas known as the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf. He was among a nine-man unit taking part in a secret military operation code-named Operation Jaguar with a duty to protect the Sultan of Oman.

The attack came the day before the men were due to go home, and the unit was hopelessly outnumbered. Realising that they needed more firepower, Sergeant Labalaba made a dash to reach a massive 25-pounder artillery gun – usually operated by four to six men. For two-and-a-half hours he held out against repeated assaults - despite sustaining a bullet in his jaw.

Struggling with his injury, a fellow Fijian soldier, Sergeant Sekonaia Takavesi went to his comrade’s aid. Sergeant Labalaba then attempted to reach a 60mm infantry mortar, but suffered a further shot in the neck and died.

At home in Hereford, where he is buried at St Martin’s Church, his bravery is remembered with pride. Many have campaigned for Sergeant Labalaba to be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his actions.

A statue has been erected in his memory at the SAS camp in Credenhill. One retired colleague commented: “He was a legend, he was so popular with comrades; we shall never forget him.”