Hugh Iorys Hughes (born 16 April 1902 [1] in Bangor; died 1977 [2]) was a civil engineer and unsung hero of World War II who advised on the design of the Mulberry harbours used in Operation Overlord.
In 1917 Churchill drafted plans for the capture of the islands Borkum and Sylt, off the Dutch and Danish coasts. He planned using caissons to form an artificial harbour when sunk on the seabed. The proposal was shelved and forgotten until 1941, when the unassuming Hughes came up with the same idea while a civil engineer living in London. He submitted detailed plans to the War Office and these were ignored until Hughes' brother, a Navy commander, drew attention to the documents. The project soon gained momentum under Major General D J McMullen and civil engineer Bruce White. The first priority was the construction of two ports in the Clyde estuary, one of which was Gare Loch.[3]
Hughes built a prototype for the Mulberry Harbours at Conwy Morfa near his home town of Conwy.[4]
Hughes' ashes were spread in the Menai Straits after his death in Colchester, Essex.
His former house in Bangor is now let to students of Bangor university] and has a plaque outside of it in his honour.