THE villagers of Stanton Lacey paid homage on Sunday to a naval VC hero of World War One who died on the first day of the landings at Gallipoli.

The Earl of Plymouth unveiled a plaque, at the War Memorial in the churchyard of St Peter, to Able Seaman William Charles Williams. Parishioners and representatives of the Naval Association attended the ceremony.

Machine gun fire

William Williams, who was born on 15 September 1880, was 34 when he died in action on 25 April, 1915. He was on board the River Clyde, a former collier converted to carry 2,100 troops, plus crew. As she landed at Cape Helles under heavy machine gun fire, the idea was to drop pontoons for a beach landing.

The pontoons landed, pointing in the wrong direction. AB Williams jumped in the water and started to turn the pontoons towards the beach. He was killed and swept out to sea. His body was never found. The Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously. Eleven other men received VCs for their action that day.

Clive Blakeway of the Shropshire War Memorials Association organised the plaque. He explained: "I found that Able Seaman Williams is commemorated on the memorial at Portsmouth and there is a road named after him in Chatham but there was nothing in Stanton Lacey."

He contacted the vicar of Bromfield, Rev James Stewart, who helped see the project through and who officiated at a short service on Sunday afternoon.

Gallipoli was part of an unsuccessful campaign against the Turks, which was abandoned in January 1916 after 250,000 British, French, Australian and New Zealand casualties. The River Clyde was sold for scrap in 1965.

l Pictured above left, the Rev James Stewart pays tribute at the plaque to Able Seaman Williams VC in Stanton Lacey churchyard. Photo: Peter Bartlett.