A PROCESSION and wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the achievements of North-East naval hero, Admiral Lord Collingwood, will be held on Trafalgar Day.

Born in Newcastle on October 24, 1748, he played a pivotal role as Horatio Nelson's second-in-command at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Cuthbert Collingwood was educated at the Royal Grammar School and entered the Royal Navy, aged 11, on the frigate, Shannon, which his cousin, Captain Braithwaite, commanded.

The Battle of Trafalgar, between a British fleet and a combined French and Spanish fleet, took place on October 21, 1805.

Collingwood was in command of the Royal Sovereign, before taking control of the fleet when Admiral Lord Nelson was mortally wounded by a French sharpshooter.

The overwhelming British victory destroyed Napoleon's plan to invade and helped secure the supremacy of British naval forces for the rest of the 1800s.

Collingwood's success at Trafalgar saw him given a peerage, and took as his title Baron Collingwood of Caldburne and Hethpoole in Northumberland.

Collingwood died on board the Ville-De-Paris on March 7, 1810, and was buried alongside Nelson in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, London.

Monday's event will be held at St Nicholas Cathedral, Newcastle, starting at 10am.