Anne Williams (activist)

Anne Williams (6 February 1951^[1] – 18 April 2013) was a campaigner for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, in which 96 Liverpool football fans died at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.

Background

Williams fought hard for a new enquiry 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. She was a mother of three from Formby who worked part-time in a newsagents, and levelled repeated attacks at the first Hillsborough inquest .^[2] Judith Moritz, a journalist for the BBC, said that although Williams had had no legal training, to talk to her, one would have thought that she had trained for years.^[3]

In December 2013, in honour of Williams' long campaigning 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] The honour was presented to her brother Danny, son Michael and daughter Sara by Alan Hansen, who had played for Liverpool on the day of the tragedy. She received a standing ovation from the gathered crowd.^[5]

She lived in Chester, and died of cancer at the age of 62 on 18 April 2013.^[1][4]

References