On Sunday I was in Chepstow, Wales, and while wandering around the town I came across this gun next to the War Memorial. Being a bit of an amateur naval historian I wanted to discover why a naval gun was here in an inland town. On finding it commemorates a Naval Victoria Cross I had to research the holder, William Williams and enter him on WikiTree.
The plaque on the gun reads:
“This gun, taken from a captured German submarine, was presented by His Majesty King George The Fifth to the town of Chepstow in recognition of the award of the Victoria Cross to Able Seaman William Charles Williams R.F.R. of this town. During the landings from the “River Clyde” at V Beach, Seddul Bahr, he assisted in replacing in position the lighters forming the bridge to the shore and which had broken adrift, holding on to a line in the water for over an hour until killed (25th April 1915).”
Location: Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, United Kingdom. Date: 7 May 2023.
Click here for the image details page or here for the full-sized version (6000 x 4000).