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 human crush during 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 ...

of 1989, in which 97

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

football fans, including her son Kevin Williams, died at

Hillsborough Stadium Hillsborough Stadium is a 39,732-capacity association football stadium located in Owlerton, a north-western suburb of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. It has been the home of Sheffield Wednesday since its opening in 1899. The ground has been sub ...

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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Personal life

Formby Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "For ...

After education at Our Lady of Lourdes school,

Birkdale Birkdale is an area of Southport, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, though historically in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. The area is located on the Irish Sea coast, approximately a mile away from the centre of S ...

, 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 and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, 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 one, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Several new awards have been i ...

Awards.

Alan Hansen Alan David Hansen (born 13 June 1955) is a Scottish former footballer and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, for the successful Liverpool team of the late 1970s and 1980s, and for the Scotland ...

, 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 the BBC One sitcom ''dinnerladies'' (1998–2000), Veronica Ball in the hit Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'' (2004–2007), Marth ...

in the eponymous ITV drama ''

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

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

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 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