William Waring VC memorial, Welshpool Town Hall

PWMP logobutton_lang_frenchbutton_lang_welshWilliam Waring VC memorial, Welshpool Town Hall

On the wall of the Town Hall is a memorial, installed in 2015, to William Herbert Waring. He died in the First World War as a result of heroic actions which earned him the Victoria Cross – Britain’s highest honour for gallantry.

William was born in 1885 to Richard and Annie Waring and had five siblings. Richard was a nail maker, later a fishmonger. The family lived in Raven Street and later Rock Terrace. After his schooling, William was a labourer on the project to construct large reservoir dams in the Elan Valley. He played for local football clubs.

He joined the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry in 1904 and was promoted to Sergeant before the First World War. He served for almost the entire duration of the war, remaining with the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry when it became the 25th Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

welshpool_william_waring_medalsWilliam was awarded the Military Medal in 1917 for his courage during an attack on Turkish positions near Gaza. In 1918 he moved to the Western Front in France. At Ronssoy, in the Somme region, he took part in the last big push to oust the Germans from this area, where previous attacks had cost so many Allied lives.

During the fighting on 18 September, he ran alone to a German strong point, where he bayonetted four soldiers and captured two with their guns. Still under heavy fire, he reorganised his men and inspired them to push ahead c.365 metres. William was wounded and evacuated to a hospital in Le Havre, where he died on 8 October 1918, aged 32. He is buried in Le Havre and commemorated on the family gravestone at Christ Church.

William’s medals (pictured left) are kept by the town council. You can see replicas of them inside the Town Hall.

With thanks to Natalie Bass

Postcode: SY21 7JQ    View Location Map

To continue the Welshpool (Powys) in WW1 tour, take a few paces towards Broad Street. The next QR codes are by the entrance to the Town Hall
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