View source for Tasker Watkins

{{Short description|Welsh judge, barrister, soldier, teacher and sports executive}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix   = [[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]] [[The Right Honourable]]
|name               = Sir Tasker Watkins
|honorific-suffix   = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|VC|GBE|DL}}
|image              = Tasker Watkins statue, Principality Stadium, 2023 02.jpg
|alt                = 
|caption            = Statue at the [[Millennium Stadium]], Cardiff
|office             = Deputy Chief Justice of England and Wales
|term_start         = 1988
|term_end           = 1993
|nominator          = 
|appointer          = 
|predecessor        = 
|successor          = [[The Lord Judge]]
|office2            = [[Lord Justice of Appeal]]
|term_start2        = 1980
|term_end2          = 1993
|office3            = [[Welsh Rugby Union|President of the Welsh Rugby Union]]
|term_start3        = 1993
|term_end3          = 2004
|predecessor3       = Graham Tregidon
|successor3         = [[Keith Rowlands]]
|birth_date         = {{Birth date|df=yes|1918|11|18|}}
|birth_place        = [[Nelson, Caerphilly|Nelson]], [[Glamorgan]], Wales
|death_date         = {{death date and age|df=yes|2007|09|09|1918|11|18}}
|death_place        = [[Cardiff]], Wales
|restingplace       = [[Thornhill Cemetery]], [[Cardiff]] (cremated)
|restingplacecoordinates = 
|birthname          = 
|citizenship        = 
|nationality        = 
|party              = 
|otherparty         =  <!--For additional political affiliations-->
|spouse             = {{marriage|Eirwen Evans|1941}}
|partner            =  <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
|children           = 2
|residence          = 
|alma_mater         = 
|occupation         = 
|profession         = 
|cabinet            = 
|committees         = 
|portfolio          = 
|religion           = 
|signature          = 
|signature_alt      = 
|website            = 
|footnotes          = 
|awards             = [[Order of the British Empire|GBE]]<br>[[Knight Bachelor|Kt]]<br>[[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|K.StJ]]
<!--Military service-->
| allegiance       = [[United Kingdom]]
| branch           = [[British Army]]
| serviceyears     = 1939–1944
| rank             = [[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]]
| unit             = [[Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry]]<br>[[Welch Regiment]]
| commands         =
| battles          = [[World War II]]
| mawards          = [[Victoria Cross]]
| relations        =
}}  
'''Sir Tasker Watkins''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|VC|GBE|DL}} (18 November 1918 – 9 September 2007) was a [[Welsh people|Welsh]] [[Lord Justice of Appeal]] and deputy [[Lord Chief Justice]]. He was President of the [[Welsh Rugby Union]] from 1993 to 2004. During the [[Second World War]], he served in the [[British Army]] and was awarded the [[Victoria Cross]], the highest British award for valour in the face of the enemy. A war hero who was prominent in the law and in Rugby Union, Watkins was described as ''The Greatest Living Welshman''.<ref>{{cite news|title=SIR TASKER WATKINS VC Lawyer, judge and war hero|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/sir-tasker-watkins-1-918527|access-date=26 June 2015|work=The Scotsman on Sunday|date=12 September 2007|archive-date=27 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627032212/http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/sir-tasker-watkins-1-918527|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Early life==
Watkins was born in the small town of [[Nelson, Caerphilly|Nelson, Glamorgan]], the son of Bertram Watkins, an engine fitter, and his wife Jane Watkins, née Phillips.<ref name=ODNB>{{Cite ODNB|id=99120|title=Watkins, Sir Tasker|last=Pill|first=Malcolm|authorlink=Malcolm Pill}}</ref> He won a scholarship to [[Pontypridd High School|Pontypridd Boys' Grammar School]]. In 1931 he moved with his parents to [[Dagenham]] in east London. He attended school in [[Romford]] where he captained the cricket and football teams and played rugby. After leaving school he worked for export agents and a [[halibut]] oil company and became a teacher in London.<ref name="BBC2">[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/6985883.stm 'Superb gallantry' of Sir Tasker] BBC Wales – 9 September 2007</ref><ref name=GuardianObit>{{cite news|last1=Morton|first1=James|title=Sir Tasker Watkins (Obiturary)|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/sep/09/guardianobituaries.obituaries|access-date=26 June 2015|work=The Guardian|date=9 September 2007}}</ref>

==Second World War==
[[File:Victoria Cross military decorations at the Lord Ashcroft Gallery, Imperial War Museum, London, June 2023 11.jpg|thumb|right|The military decorations of Watkins on display at the [[Imperial War Museum]] in london]]
Following the outbreak of the [[Second World War]] in September 1939, Watkins joined the [[British Army]], initially as a [[Private (rank)|private]] in the [[Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry]], in October.<ref name=ODNB/><ref name="VC.org death announcement">{{cite web|last=Stewart|first=Iain |title=THE DEATH HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED OF MAJOR THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR TASKER WATKINS VC, GBE, 5TH BN, THE WELCH REGIMENT, WHO WON HIS VICTORIA CROSS IN NORTH WEST EUROPE IN AUGUST 1944.|url=http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/bbwatkin.htm|publisher=VictoriaCross.org|access-date=23 January 2013|date=10 September 2007}}</ref> After serving for over a year as a private he was sent for officer training and was [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]], with the rank of [[second lieutenant]], into the [[Welch Regiment]] on 17 May 1941. He was given the [[service number]] 187088.<ref name=GuardianObit/><ref name="LG 27 May 1941">{{London Gazette|issue=35175|date=27 May 1941|pages=3081–3083|supp=y}}</ref> He was posted to the regiment's 1/5th Battalion, a [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] (TA) unit. The battalion was one of three (the others being the 4th Welch Regiment and the 2nd [[Monmouthshire Regiment]]) which formed part of the [[160th Infantry Brigade]], itself being one of three brigades (the others being the [[158th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|158th]] and [[159th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|159th]]) forming the [[53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division]]. The division, then commanded by [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[Gerard Bucknall]], was serving in [[Northern Ireland]] until moving to Wales late in 1941, and then to [[Kent]] in April 1942, where it remained for over two years before it saw action, until then being engaged in training and [[military exercise]]s.

As a [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]], Watkins departed for France with the rest of the 53rd Division, commanded by Major General [[Robert Knox Ross]], arriving in late June 1944, just weeks after the [[D-Day landings]]. The division participated in a number of engagements, such as the [[Second Battle of the Odon]], and, in August, the [[battle of the Falaise Pocket]]. By mid-August Watkins, commanding "B" Company in his battalion, which had by now been transferred from the 160th Brigade to the 158th Brigade, was one officer in a group leading an assault on a [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German]] machine gun post. After the other officers were killed in the approach, Watkins continued to lead the group, leading a [[bayonet]] charge against 50 armed enemy infantry and then single-handedly taking out a machine-gun post to ensure the safety of his unit.<ref name="Telegraph1">{{cite news|last1=Gallagher|first1=Brendan|title=Campaigners press for gallant Mayne to join VCs|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/ireland/2340410/Campaigners-press-for-gallant-Mayne-to-join-VCs.html|access-date=10 January 2016|work=The Telegraph|date=12 July 2006}}</ref>

He was the first Welsh member of the British Army to be awarded a VC during the Second World War. His citation read:

{{Cquote|quote=In North-West Europe on the evening, of 16th August, 1944, Lieutenant Watkins was commanding a company of the Welch Regiment. The battalion was ordered to attack objectives near the railway at Bafour. Lieutenant Watkin's company had to cross open cornfields in which booby traps had been set. It was not yet dusk and the company soon came under heavy machine-gun fire from posts in the com and farther back, and also fire from an 88 mm. gun; many casualties were caused and the advance was slowed up.
<p>Lieutenant Watkins, the only officer left, placed himself at the head of his men and under short range fire charged two posts in succession, personally killing or wounding the occupants with his Sten gun. On reaching his objective he found an anti-tank gun manned by a German soldier; his Sten gun jammed, so he threw it in the German's face and shot him with his pistol before he had time to recover.</p>
<p>Lieutenant Watkin's company now had only some 30 men left and was counter-attacked by 50 enemy infantry. Lieutenant Watkins directed the fire of his men and then led a bayonet charge, which resulted in the almost complete destruction of the enemy. It was now dusk and orders were given for the battalion to withdraw. These orders were not received by Lieutenant Watkin's company as the wireless set had been destroyed. They now found themselves alone and surrounded in depleted numbers and in failing light. Lieutenant Watkins decided to rejoin his battalion by passing round the flank of the enemy position through which he had advanced but while passing through the cornfields once more, he was challenged by an enemy post at close range. He ordered his men to scatter and himself charged the post with a Bren gun and silenced it. He then led the remnants of his company back to battalion headquarters.</p><p>
His superb gallantry and total disregard for his own safety during an extremely difficult period were responsible for saving the lives of his men, and had a decisive influence on the course of the battle.</p> |source=Citation in the ''[[London Gazette]]'' on the award of the Victoria Cross<ref name=LG>{{London Gazette|issue=36774|date=2 November 1944|pages=5015–5016|supp=y}}</ref>}}

Watkins' active service ended in October 1944 when he was badly wounded in the battle to liberate the Dutch city of [['s-Hertogenbosch|'s{{Non breaking hyphen}}Hertogenbosch]], where a memorial service was held for him in [[St. John's Cathedral ('s-Hertogenbosch)|St. John's Cathedral]] in 2007. He rarely spoke about the war. Of the event which led to him being awarded the VC he simply stated, in a 1955 radio interview:<ref name=ODNB/>

{{cquote|A good memory is a fine thing but for those who were there it should not be too good. It should be good enough, however, to recall the great comradeship we had and which we shall never experience again.}}

He stated in another interview with ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' in 2001:<ref name=ODNB/>

{{cquote|You must believe me when I say it was just another day in the life of a soldier. I did what needed doing to help colleagues and friends, just as others looked out for me during the fighting that summer... I didn't wake up the next day a better or braver person, just different. I'd seen more killing and death in 24 hours−indeed been part of that terrible process−than is right for anybody. From that point onwards I have tried to take a more caring view of my fellow human beings, and that, of course, always includes your opponent, whether it be in war, sport, or just life generally.}}

Wales rugby coach [[Graham Henry]] had Watkins' citation pinned up on the wall of the Welsh changing room before [[Six Nations Championship|Six Nations]] encounters.<ref name="Telegraph1"/>

Watkins' VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery in the [[Imperial War Museum]].

==Career==
Watkins later achieved the rank of [[Major (United Kingdom)|major]], and on leaving the Army, studied law. He was [[called to the bar]] at the [[Middle Temple]] in 1948. He became a [[Queen's Counsel]] on 27 April 1965,<ref>{{cite web |title=Tasker Watkins' Queen's Counsel Appointment 1965 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/43636/page/4127 |website=The London Gazette |access-date=22 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref> and in 1966–67 was Counsel to the Tribunal on the inquiry into the [[Aberfan disaster]], which happened a few miles from his birthplace.<ref>[http://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/politics/aberfan/who2.htm Aberfan Disaster Archive – Witnesses examined by each Counsel at Tribunal of Inquiry] Nuffield Library, Oxford</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/aberfan-it-neednt-have-happened-2306999 |title=Aberfan: It needn't have happened |work=icWales.co.uk |date=19 October 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022220144/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/aberfan-it-neednt-have-happened-2306999 |archive-date=22 October 2016 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Watkins was deputy chairman of Radnorshire [[Quarter Sessions]] between 1962 and 1971, and of Carmarthenshire Quarter Sessions from 1966 until 1971. He was [[Recorder (judge)|Recorder]] of Merthyr Tydfil between 1968 and 1970<ref>Who's Who,1971 A & C Black {{ISBN|0-7136-1140-5}} p3307</ref> and of Swansea during 1970 and 1971. He was Leader of the Wales and Chester Circuit from 1970 to 1971.<ref name="WRU1"/>

In 1971, he was appointed to the [[High Court of Justice|High Court bench]], where he sat in the [[Family Division]] between 1971 and 1974, and thereafter, until 1980, 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 of England and Wales|Court of Appeal]] (receiving the customary appointment to the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Council]]) in 1980. He became the first [[Senior Presiding Judge]] in 1983.<ref name="TelegraphObit">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1562637/Sir-Tasker-Watkins-VC.html |title=Sir Tasker Watkins VC |work=The Telegraph |date=10 September 2007 |access-date=11 December 2012}}</ref> [[Lord Lane]] appointed him Deputy Chief Justice in 1988, a post which he continued to hold under Lane's successor as Lord Chief Justice, [[Lord Taylor of Gosforth]], until retiring from the bench in 1993.<ref name="WRU1"/>

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.<ref name="WRU1"/>

===Welsh Rugby Union===
Watkins played [[Rugby Union|Rugby Union football]] as an [[outside-half]] for the [[Army Rugby Union|Army]], [[Cardiff RFC]] and [[Glamorgan Wanderers]].<ref name="BBC2"/> 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 [[David Rocyn-Jones|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.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/welsh/3939905.stm WRU president steps down] BBC Sport – 30 July 2004</ref>

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."<ref name="Sir Tasker Watkins statue unveiled">[http://www.wru.co.uk/22630.php Sir Tasker Watkins statue unveiled] WRU – 15 November 2009 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126110428/http://www.wru.co.uk/22630.php |date=26 November 2009 }}</ref>

Watkins was appointed an honorary life vice-patron of the WRU.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/news/11490.php |title=Sir Tasker Watkins Takes Up New Post at WRU |access-date=1 June 2016 |publisher=WRU |date=30 July 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528080606/http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/news/11490.php |archive-date=28 May 2013 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> 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.<ref name="WRU1">{{cite web |url=http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/news/14882.php |title=Sir Tasker Watkins passes away |publisher=WRU |date=9 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204111308/http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/news/14882.php |archive-date=4 February 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Other interests===
Watkins was 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.<ref name="TelegraphObit" />

Watkins was once asked by the Liberal Party if he would consider becoming a Member of Parliament and a safe seat was offered him, but Watkins turned the offer down.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://biography.wales/article/s11-WATK-TAS-1918 | title=WATKINS, Sir TASKER (1918–2007), barrister and judge &#124; Dictionary of Welsh Biography }}</ref>

==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.<ref name="BBC1">[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_east/6985799.stm War hero Sir Tasker Watkins dies] BBC Wales News – 9 September 2007</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_headline=welsh-hero-tasker-dies-at-88%26method=full%26objectid=19759728%26siteid=50082-name_page.html |title=Welsh hero Tasker dies at 88 |work=icWales.co.uk |date=9 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527142124/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/tm_headline=welsh-hero-tasker-dies-at-88&method=full&objectid=19759728&siteid=50082-name_page.html |archive-date=27 May 2012 |url-status=dead}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> His funeral was held at [[Llandaff Cathedral]] on 15 September, and he was later [[cremated]] at [[Thornhill Cemetery and Cardiff Crematorium|Thornhill Crematorium]].<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_east/6995110.stm Hundreds for Sir Tasker funeral] BBC Wales – 15 September 2007</ref>

==Personal life==
Watkins married Eirwen Evans in 1941. They had a son and a daughter.<ref name=ODNB/>

==Honours and decorations==

{{center|
<br>
[[File:UK Victoria Cross ribbon bar.svg|100px]]
[[File:Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon.png|100px]]
[[File:Knight-Bachelor.ribbon.png|100px]]
<br>
[[File:Order of St John (UK) ribbon -vector.svg|100px]]
[[File:Ribbon - 1939-45 Star.png|100px]]
[[File:France and Germany Star BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Defence Medal BAR.svg|100px]]
<br>
[[File:Ribbon - War Medal.png|100px]]
[[File:UK Queen EII Coronation Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
}}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto"
|- style="background:silver;" align="center"
|Ribbon || Description || Notes
|-
|[[File:UK Victoria Cross ribbon bar.svg|40px]] || [[Victoria Cross]] (VC) || 
* 16 August 1944
|-
|[[File:Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon.png|40px]] || [[Order of the British Empire]] (GBE) ||
* Knight Grand Cross
* Civil Division
* [[1990 New Year Honours|1990 New Years Honours List]]
* <ref>{{cite web |title=Tasker Watkins' Citation as a GBE |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/51981/supplement/7 |website=The London Gazette |access-date=22 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Knight-Bachelor.ribbon.png|40px]] || [[Knight Bachelor]] (Kt) ||
* 1971
|-
|[[File:Order of St John (UK) ribbon -vector.svg|40px]] || [[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|Order of St John]] (K.StJ) ||
* Knight of Justice
* 1998
|-
|[[File:Ribbon - 1939-45 Star.png|40px]] || [[1939–1945 Star]] ||
|-
|[[File:France and Germany Star BAR.svg|40px]] || [[France and Germany Star]] ||
|-
|[[File:Defence Medal BAR.svg|40px]] || [[Defence Medal (United Kingdom)|Defence Medal]] ||
|-
|[[File:Ribbon - War Medal.png|40px]] || [[War Medal 1939–1945|War Medal]] ||
|-
|[[File:UK Queen EII Coronation Medal ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal]] ||
* 1953
|-
|[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal]] ||
* 1977
* UK version of this medal
|-
|[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal]] ||
* 2002
* UK version of this medal
|-
|}

Watkins was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in 1971. He was made a member of the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|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]] (K.StJ) in 1998,<ref name="WRU1"/> on 12 April 2006 he was made a [[Freedom of the City|Freeman]] of the City of Cardiff, with [[Lord Mayor]] Freda Salway describing Watkins as "one of Wales' most notable citizens."<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4904918.stm Sir Tasker given freeman honour] BBC Wales – 12 April 2006</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/Your-Council/Lord-Mayor/honorary-freedom/Documents/freedom%20roll%20list%20June%202014.pdf|title=HONORARY FREEMAN OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF CARDIFF|website=Cardiff.gov.uk|access-date=28 February 2019|archive-date=10 October 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/Your-Council/Lord-Mayor/honorary-freedom/Documents/freedom%20roll%20list%20June%202014.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

His VC and other honours are on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the [[Imperial War Museum]], London.

===Appointments===
* [[Deputy lieutenant]] of [[Glamorgan]] (4 May 1956)<ref>{{cite web |title=Deputy Lieutenant Commissions County of Glamorgan |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/40774/page/2710 |website=The London Gazette |access-date=22 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Honorary Fellow]] of the [[Royal College of Surgeons of England]] (1992)
* President of the [[University of Wales College of Medicine]] (1987–1998)
* President of the [[Royal British Legion]] in Wales (1947–1968)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/sep/10/guardianobituaries.law|title=Obituary: Sir Tasker Watkins, VC|first=James|last=Morton|date=9 September 2007|access-date=28 February 2019|website=Theguardian.com}}</ref>
* President of the [[Welsh Rugby Union]] (1993–2004)
* Vice President of the [[Victoria Cross and George Cross Association]] (2002–2007)

===Honorary degrees===
Watkins was awarded several [[honorary degrees]], including
*[[University of Wales]], [[LL. D.]] (1976)
*[[University of Glamorgan]], [[LL. D.]] (1996)
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2018}}

===Statue===
A statue of Watkins was commissioned to stand outside Gate C of the [[Millennium Stadium]]. The statue, nine feet tall, was sculpted by [[Llantwit Major]] based sculptor Roger Andrews.  The [[Welsh Assembly|Assembly Government]] contributed £25,000, among other contributions.<ref name="Sir Tasker Watkins statue unveiled"/>

==See also==
*[[British VCs of World War 2]] (John Laffin, 1997)
*[[Monuments to Courage]] (David Harvey, 1999)
*[[The Register of the Victoria Cross]] (This England, 1997)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Statue of Tasker Watkins}}
*[https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,2165622,00.html Obituary, ''The Guardian'', 9 September 2007]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080724212129/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2418759.ece Obituary, ''The Times'', 10 September 2007]{{subscription required}}
*[http://www.david-griffiths.co.uk/gallery-4/4572308471 Official portrait of Tasker Watkins by David Griffiths] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111143347/http://www.david-griffiths.co.uk/gallery-4/4572308471 |date=11 January 2014 }}

{{Royal Welsh}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Tasker}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
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