PUPILS of a Chepstow school presented a relative of Victoria Cross winner William Williams with a replica of the highest military award for bravery.

The able seaman’s great-great niece, Emma Gudgeon, and her father Gordon Pidsley, visited The Dell Primary School on Armistice Day (Monday, November 11) to talk to Year Six pupils.

The children were told about the bravery of William, who was awarded the VCs posthumously after he was killed during the Gallipoli landings, helping to ensure that troops were able to disembark under heavy fire.

AS Williams’ commanding officer descri- bed the 34-year-old as the “bravest sailor he had ever met” after he dived into the water to help troops ashore before being killed by a shell.

Mrs Gudgeon and Mr Pidsley were presented with a Poppy brooch and a replica of the Victoria Cross by Ellis Hodkinson and Eleanor Curran.

William’s original me- dal was bought by collector Lord Ashcroft and is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.

The pupils, Mrs Gudgeon and Mr Pidsley joined the town’s act of remembrance next to the German submarine gun that was presented to Chepstow in honour of William Williams’s bravery.

Gracie Waite and Harry Ferns laid a wreath made by the children, and Jacob Weir and Katie Burrows read poems they had composed.

Mr Pidsley, from Chepstow, said he and Mrs Gudgeon were “humbled” by their visit.

“The children and the teachers have worked really hard and it was humbling to see.”

“The children took a great interest in William’s story and they are are a real credit.”