He received the VC during the First World War, for his actions during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915.

A couple of years later, when William was six, he and his brother was placed in the Countesthorpe Cottage Homes, near Leicester, where he would spend most of his youth.

He fought at the Defence of Givenchy, with his name being forwarded to Lieutenant General James Willcocks, the commander of the Indian Corps, for special mention.

[4] His battalion was on the right of the division's sector and proceeded to capture a section of German trenches that had been overlooked for a preliminary artillery barrage.

[5] The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a serviceman of the British Empire.

[9] His hometown of Leicester took some pride in the award, gifting him £100 in war loan stock and a purse of gold.