[1] He was the second of four children born to Adrian Lewis, a brass moulder and fitter at Milford Haven docks, and his wife Sarah (née Broome).

[2][3] After leaving school at the age of 13, Lewis went to work as a packer in the town's fish market for local businessman George Bradbury.

[6] During the initial rush, D Party was spotted by a German sentry after crossing only 300 yards (270 m) of ground, allowing the enemy forces to open fire with machine guns and artillery.

[2] During a brief respite in the shelling, Captain Guthrie Morgan led a charge of around 150 men, including Lewis, into the German trenches where they were able to gain control after a period of hand-to-hand combat.

Using his rifle butt and bayonet, Lewis briefly fought with the men before they surrendered to him, in an incident witnessed by Captain Morgan and another soldier.

His award was announced on 15 December 1916 in The London Gazette, the citation reading: For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty during a raid.

Subsequently, during the retirement, he went to the assistance of a wounded man, and under heavy shell and rifle fire brought him to our lines, on reaching which he collapsed.

Private Lewis showed throughout a brilliant example of courage, endurance and devotion to duty.Lewis returned home in January 1917, attending a press conference at The Grand Hotel in Cardiff where he stated "I joined The Welsh Regiment as a raw recruit, and I am proud of the fact that I have not disgraced the honour and proud record of the regiment.

He later returned to his hometown Milford Haven, where he was given a gold watch,[1] before receiving his VC from King George V at Buckingham Palace on 5 February 1917.

After seeing his captain fall, he rushed to his aid despite suffering the effects of poisonous gas and fighting off nearby Bulgarian troops.

Morgan later wrote to Lewis and stated "It is impossible for me to express how grateful I am to you for saving my life…You certainly deserve a Bar to your Victoria Cross.

He took several jobs in order to earn a living before again returning to the fish market to work for the Milford Haven Ice Company,[1][14] unloading delivery lorries.

[1] Lewis married his fiancée, Edith Eveline Etherington, in Haverfordwest on 9 October 1920 and the couple had three sons, Edward, Vernon and Arthur.

One of his sons, Vernon, a flight sergeant in the RAF, was killed in a nighttime bombing raid over Germany in August 1943 at the age of 22; his Avro Lancaster was shot down by an enemy night fighter.

In 1964, the pair, along with another VC recipient, Edward Thomas Chapman, attended the film premiere of Zulu where they dined with Michael Caine.