Tasker Watkins
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The Right Honourable Sir Tasker Watkins VC GBE QC DL |
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|---|---|
Statue at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
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| Deputy Chief Justice of England and Wales | |
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In office 1988–1993 |
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| Succeeded by | The Lord Judge |
| Lord Justice of Appeal | |
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In office 1980–1993 |
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| President, Welsh Rugby Union | |
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In office 1993–2004 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
18 November 1918 Nelson, Wales |
| Died | 9 September 2007 (aged 88) Cardiff, Wales |
| Resting place | Thornhill Cemetery, Cardiff (cremated) |
| Civilian awards |
GBE Kt K.StJ |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
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| Service/branch |
 British Army
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| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Welch Regiment |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Military awards | Victoria Cross |
Sir Tasker Watkins VC GBE PC QC DL (18 November 1918 – 9 September 2007) was a Lord Justice of Appeal and deputy Lord Chief Justice. He was President of the Welsh Rugby Union from 1993 to 2004. In World War II, he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest British award for gallantry in the face of the enemy. A war hero who was prominent in the law and in Rugby Union, Watkins was described as The Greatest Living Welshman.
Watkins was born in the small town of Nelson, Glamorgan. He won a scholarship to Pontypridd Boys' Grammar School. In 1931 he moved with his parents to Dagenham in east London. He attended school in Romford where he captained the cricket and football teams and played rugby. After leaving school he worked for export agents and a halibut oil company and became a teacher in London.
Following the outbreak of World War II, Watkins joined the British Army as a private in October 1939. After serving for a year as a private he was sent for officer training and was commissioned into the Welch Regiment on 17 May 1941 as second lieutenant. He was given the service number 187088.
A lieutenant in the 1/5th Battalion, Welch Regiment, he was one officer in a group in Normandy after D-Day, leading an assault on a German Army machine gun post. After all the other officers were killed in the approach, Watkins continued to lead the group and won his VC for leading a bayonet charge against 50 armed enemy infantry and then single-handedly took out a machine-gun post to ensure the safety of his unit.
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