Tasker Watkins Sir Tasker Watkins , VC , GBE ( 18 November 1918 – 9 September 2007 ) was a Lord Justice of Appeal and deputy Lord Chief Justice . He was President of the Welsh Rugby Union from 1993 to 2004 . In World War II , he was awarded the Victoria Cross , the highest British award for gallantry in the face of the enemy . Early life . The son of a coal miner , Watkins was born in the small town of Nelson , Glamorgan . He won a scholarship to Pontypridd Boys ' Grammar School , and became a teacher in London . Military service . Following the outbreak of World War II , Watkins joined the British Army as a private in October 1939 . Having attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit , he was commissioned into the Welsh Regiment on 17 May 1941 as second lieutenant . He was given the service number 187088 . A lieutenant in the 1 / 5th battalion , he was one officer in a group in Normandy post D - Day leading an assault on a Wehrmacht machine gun post . After all the other officers were killed in the approach , Watkins continued to lead the group and won his VC for leading a bayonet charge against 50 armed enemy infantry and then single - handedly took out a machine - gun post to ensure the safety of his unit . He was the first Welsh member of the Army to be awarded a VC during the Second World War . His citation read : Wales rugby coach Graham Henry had Watkins ' citation pinned up on the wall of the Welsh changing room before Six Nations encounters . Watkins ' Victoria Cross is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery in the Imperial War Museum . Career . Watkins later achieved the rank of major , and on leaving the British Army , studied law . He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1948 . He became a Queen ' s Counsel in 1965 , and in 1966 served as Counsel to the Tribunal on the inquiry into the Aberfan disaster . Watkins served as deputy chairman of Radnorshire Quarter Sessions between 1962 and 1971 , and of Carmarthenshire Quarter Sessions from 1966 until 1971 . He was Recorder of Merthyr Tydfil between 1968 and 1970 and of Swansea during 1970 and 1971 . He was Leader of the Wales and Chester Circuit from 1970 - 71 . In 1971 , he was appointed to the High Court bench , where he sat in the Family Division between 1971 and 1974 , and thereafter in the Queen ' s Bench Division . He was a Presiding Judge of the Wales and Chester Circuit from 1975 until he was promoted to the Court of Appeal ( receiving the customary appointment to the Privy Council ) in 1980 . He became the first Senior Presiding Judge in 1983 . Lord Lane appointed him Deputy Chief Justice in 1988 , a post in which he continued to serve in under Lane ' s successor as Lord Chief Justice , Lord Taylor of Gosforth , until retiring from the bench in 1993 . Watkins was a chairman of the Mental Health Review Tribunal , Wales Region , between 1960 and 1971 and was also chairman of the Judicial Studies Board during 1979 and 1980 . Welsh Rugby Union . Watkins played Rugby Union football as an outside - half for the Army , Cardiff RFC and Glamorgan Wanderers . He became president of the Welsh Rugby Union in 1993 , overseeing the switch from the amateur era to professionalism and the move from club to regional rugby in Wales . He stepped down on 26 September 2004 as the first man since Sir David Rocyn Jones in 1953 to hold office for more than one season . His 11 years of service made him the second longest serving president in the WRU ' s 123 year history . Watkins was also Chairman , President of Glamorgan Wanderers , and patron until his death . Watkins is now honoured by Glamorgan Wanderers as their First XV team shirt has the letters STW - VC ( Sir Tasker Watkins VC ) in a green box on the right shoulder . The Wanderers also have a working model statue of Watkins in their club house donated by Llantwit Major based sculptor Roger Andrews . It stands in a corner that has been called ' Tasker ' s Corner ' by members of the club . Watkins has been called " The most influential Welshman of the late 20th century . " Watkins was appointed an honorary life vice patron of the WRU . On announcement of his death , the Welsh team wore black armbands for their 2007 Rugby World Cup game against Canada in Nantes , France , as a tribute to the former WRU president . Other interests . Watkins served as president of the University of Wales College of Medicine for 11 years from 1987 , and was president of the British Legion in Wales from 1947 to 1968 . Watkins was once asked if he would like to become a Member of Parliament and was even told he could make it to be Prime Minister . Upon his acceptance a safe seat would be found for him . However Watkins turned this offer down . Later life . After falling at his home in Llandaff in August 2007 , Watkins was hospitalised at the University Hospital of Wales , Cardiff . Watkins died at the hospital on 9 September 2007 . His funeral was held at Llandaff Cathedral on 15 September , and he was later cremated at Thornhill Crematorium . Personal life . Watkins married Eirwen Evans in 1941 . Honours and decorations . Watkins was knighted in 1971 . He was made a member of the Privy Council in 1980 . Appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire ( GBE ) in 1990 and Knight of Justice of the Order of St John ( KStJ ) in 1998 , in April 2006 he was made a Freeman of the City of Cardiff , with Lord Mayor Freda Salway describing Watkins as " one of Wales ' most notable citizens . " His VC and other honours are on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum , London . Statue . A statue of Watkins was commissioned to stand outside Gate C in the Millennium Stadium . The statue , nine feet tall , was sculpted by Llantwit Major based sculptor Roger Andrews . The Assembly Government contributed £25 , 000 , among other contributions .