Mayor of Wellington Cllr Gary James, accompanied by Mayoress Bee James, attended the unveiling of a memorial dedicated to the centenary of the award of the Victoria Cross to Somerset man John Collins.

The service was held at St Andrews Church, West Hatch, where the citation was read, after which the party moved next door to the old school house, now the village hall, where Taunton Deane Mayor Hazel Prior-Sankey, with the help of Corporal Collins’ descendants, unveiled a plaque. 

John Collins VC DCM MM (September 10 1880-September 3 1951) was born in West Hatch. He was 37 years old and an acting corporal in the 25th Battalion, the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, British Army, during the First World War when he won the VC.

Corporal Collins was at Wadi Saba, Beersheba, Palestine, on October 31, 1917, when he repeatedly went out and brought back many wounded while his battalion was forced to lie out in the open under heavy shell and machine-gun fire.

In subsequent operations he rallied his men and led the final assault with great skill, in spite of heavy fire at close range and uncut wire.

He bayonetted 15 of the enemy and with a Lewis gun section covered the reorganisation and consolidation most effectively, although isolated and under fire from snipers and guns.

The Victoria Cross is the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Corporal Collins later achieved the rank of Sergeant. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Welsh Fusiliers Museum, Caernarfon Castle, Gwynedd, Wales.