Anne Elizabeth Williams (née Meath; 6 February 1951 – 18 April 2013) was a campaigner for the victims of the

Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal crowd crush at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the tw ...

of 1989, in which 97

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

football fans, including her son Kevin Williams, died at

Hillsborough Stadium Hillsborough Stadium is a association football, football stadium in the area of Owlerton, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. With a total capacity of 39,732, it has been the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C., Sheffield Wednesday Football Club ...

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. She formed a pressure group "Hope For Hillsborough", subsequently merging it into the "Hillsborough Justice Campaign", eventually becoming chair of the latter. Judith Moritz, a journalist for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, said that although Williams had no legal training, to talk to her, one would have thought that she had trained for years.

Personal life

Williams was born at

Formby Formby is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under ...

on 6 February 1951. 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. That relationship broke down in the years after Hillsborough. She later lived in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, and died of cancer at the age of 62, on 18 April 2013. Two of her children survive her.

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 The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just a single award of the same name. Several new awards have been introduced, and cu ...

Awards. 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.

In media

Williams was portrayed by

Maxine Peake Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in ''Dinnerladies (TV series), dinnerladies'', a sitcom on BBC One (1998–2000), as List of Shameless (British TV series) characters#Vero ...

in the eponymous ITV drama ''

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

'', which aired in January 2022. Writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Jack Seale described the performance as "Almost unwatchably intense".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams 1951 births 2013 deaths People from Formby British activists British women activists Deaths from cancer in England Hillsborough disaster