Hero of the Month: Sgt Richard Williams (1987 – 2018)
Sergeant Richard Williams was an adventurous, hard-working and passionate father, husband and soldier in the Royal Welsh.
Richard joined the Army at 16 years old and completed multiple tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2018, Richard was involved in a road traffic accident and suffered severe brain damage. He died a week later on the 22nd of October 2018, aged 32. His three children, Thomas, Dafydd and Osian, were just nine, eight and three.
Sgt Richard Williams
“We live in Wales but he worked in Tidworth, so he was travelling back and forth every week. It’s a long way, but he was always full of energy and never moody,” says Rhian, Richard’s wife. “He was constantly happy, constantly on the go. He tried to get the kids involved with everything he did and loved spending time with them. He was a perfect dad.”
Despite being in single digits when Richard died, the children have all taken after him in different ways.
“Our youngest, Osian, is just Richard – they look exactly alike. Dafydd, our middle child, has a personality just like his dad’s. He loves biking and making people laugh. Watching the way he does things is just like watching his dad. Our eldest, Thomas, likes some of the same things, but is also into very different stuff as well. Richard was close with all three of them. I can remember their grinning faces every time they came home from a trip together.”
Richard and his children - Thomas, Dafydd and Osian
When not at work or spending time with his boys, Richard loved camping, being outside and riding his motorbike.
“He had a road bike and a field bike, so he and his brother would go off road and camp overnight in a field. He would have done that every weekend if he could.” Richard and his brother, David, grew up together and served beside each other in the Royal Welsh. “They used to travel down together and enjoyed doing all the same things,” says Rhian. “They were extremely close.”
Richard on his motorbike
Rhian and the boys have lots of way they like to remember their dad, from sharing a meal on his birthday using Scotty’s anniversary vouchers to continuing one of Richard’s favourite traditions – meat nights.
“A few years before Richard passed away, he was based in Yorkshire. He and a friend there used to have port and meat nights, where they would literally just pile up a plate with all sorts of meat along with a glass of red wine. We sometimes have meat nights at home because of that, although I’m not the biggest fan of red wine. I don’t know how he could drink the stuff! Fillet steak was his favourite, so we like to get some fillet steaks and cook them just the way he liked it. He just loved meat.”
Each of the boys also have their own ways of remembering, like Dafydd, who enjoys going out on his bike with his uncle David and Richard’s friend, Russ, just like his dad used to.
Richard enjoying a night out
In addition to all of this, Rhian holds a very special fundraising ball each year, entirely dedicated to remembering the great person that Richard was.
“The year after Richard passed away, we held a massive fundraising ball in the same hotel we held his funeral. Being able to go back there, but this time for a massive party celebrating his life, was nice. He had a really good life. We didn’t mourn – we did exactly what I knew Richard would want and had fun, danced, laughed. All our family were there and all of Richard’s friends came with their partners. I call them his brothers, because that’s what they called each other. Around 250 people turned up in total and everyone was dressed up to the nines in tuxedos and dresses, we had a raffle and an auction with people donating holidays and things like that. It was huge.”
Richard's friends attending his fundraising ball
Due to Covid, Rhian wasn’t able to hold another event for a couple of years, but in 2022 Richard’s fundraising ball returned, bigger and brighter than ever.
“The second ball was themed around a casino night. Richard had been to one for his uncle’s 50th birthday and absolutely loved it. I still have Richard’s phone with all his favourite music on it, so we connected it up to the speakers and had his music playing the whole time. I love having one night a year just totally dedicated to him, which we can use to raise money for causes that mean a lot to us. Last year we chose Scotty’s Little Soldiers and The Soldiers’ Charity.”
Rhian at Richard's fundraising ball
Thomas, Dafyyd and Osian joined Scotty’s in 2018 – just a month after their dad died – and have been supported by the charity ever since, benefitting from Scotty Breaks, grants, Christmas parties and the option to access to one-to-one bereavement support, should they ever want it. Through these events, they have been able to meet lots of bereaved military children who can relate to what they’ve been through.
“Scotty’s means everything to us. If it wasn't for Scotty’s, it would be hard to talk about Richard. It helps knowing other people are going through the same thing as us and that we have that support. One of Richard's best friends actually passed away the year after he did, and their daughter is also now a member of Scotty’s. Knowing there are other people makes a massive difference.”
Richard, Rhian and the boys stopping for a photo
