A bronze statue commemorating a Norwegian sea-dog and war hero has been unveiled in Montrose, Scotland.

Bamse the St. Bernard was the mascot of a Norwegian minesweeper based on the East coast of Scotland during the Second World War. He sailed aboard the Thorodd and even had his own his sailor's cap.

Weighing nearly 90 kg and standing a metre high at the shoulder, Bamse became a much-photographed symbol of resistance to the Nazis after their occupation of Norway in 1940.

After he died in 1944, his grave became a well-tended place of pilgrimage for Norwegian tourists, animal lovers and history buffs.

Last summer, the Bamse's collar and sailor's hat featured prominently in an exhibit at the Imperial War Museum in London entitled "The Animals' War."

Well-wishers raised more than $100,000 to pay for the life-size statue in Montrose, which was unveiled by Prince Andrew before a crowd of several hundred people.