William Ratcliffe VC MM (18 January 1884 – 26 March 1963) was an English private of South Lancashire Regiment.

[1] Ratcliffe worked on the Liverpool docks briefly after leaving school, then joined the British Army at the age of 17 and served in South Africa during the Second Boer War and in India.

[2] In 1929 Victoria Cross winners were invited, by the Prince of Wales, to attend a dinner at the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords.

In 1956 he attended the Centennial of the institution of the Victoria Cross in London's Hyde Park, where the living holders were reviewed by Queen Elizabeth II.

[3] Ratcliffe was 33 years old, and a private in the 2nd Battalion, the South Lancashire Regiment, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place during the Battle of Messines for which he was awarded the VC.