Anne Williams (activist)

Anne Elizabeth Williams (née Meath; 6 February 1951 – 18 April 2013) was a campaigner for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, in which 97 Liverpool football fans, including her son Kevin Williams, died at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.

Hillsborough

Williams fought hard for a new inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, her actions being prompted by the death of her own son Kevin at Hillsborough, who had been crushed to death in the disaster, aged 15. She levelled several legal attacks at the first Hillsborough inquest, questioning the credibility of its findings.[1] She formed a pressure group "Hope For Hillsborough", subsequently merging it into the "Hillsborough Justice Campaign", eventually becoming chair of the latter.[2]

Judith Moritz, a journalist for the BBC, said that although Williams had no legal training, to talk to her, one would have thought that she had trained for years.[3]

Personal life

Williams was born at Formby on 6 February 1951.[2] After education at Our Lady of Lourdes school, Birkdale, she became a mother of three, living in Formby and working part-time in a newsagents. She had two sons by her first husband, the younger of whom was Kevin. After a divorce, she married Steve Williams, with whom she had a daughter.[2] That relationship broke down in the years after Hillsborough.[2]

She later lived in Chester, and died of cancer at the age of 62, on 18 April 2013.[2][4] Two of her children survive her.[2]

Legacy

In December 2013, in honour of Williams' long campaign for justice for her son Kevin and all the victims of Hillsborough, she was posthumously awarded the Helen Rollason Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards.[4] Alan Hansen, who had been playing for Liverpool on the day of the tragedy, presented the award to Anne's brother Danny, her son Michael and daughter Sara. She received a standing ovation from the audience.[5]

In media

Williams was portrayed by Maxine Peake in the eponymous ITV drama Anne, which aired in January 2022.[6] Writing in The Guardian, Jack Seale described the performance as "Almost unwatchably intense".[6]

References

  1. ^ "Hillsborough campaigner Anne Williams dies aged 62". The Guardian. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Obituary: Anne Williams". The Telegraph. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  3. ^ "Hillsborough justice campaigner Anne Williams dies at 60". BBC News: Liverpool. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Anne Williams: BBC award for Hillsborough campaigner". BBC Sport. 14 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Anne Williams: BBC award for Hillsborough campaigner". 15 December 2013 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  6. ^ a b Seale, Jack (2 January 2022). "Anne review – Maxine Peake exudes raw horror in extraordinary Hillsborough drama". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2022.