Billy was one of 10 children of Wesley and Florence (nee Webber) Gerrish of 664 Stapleton Rd Bristol. From 1905 to 1909 he played for Bristol Rovers. It was reported that during one game he sent the ball straight through the net and out onto the main road. In June 1909 he was transferred to Aston Villa for a fee of £200. During the 1909/10 season he won a first Division League Championship Medal. Spells with Preston North End and Chesterfield followed. In Feb 1915 he joined the Footballers’ Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment – where it would appear that he lied about his age making himself 4 years younger than he actually was. Later that year whist in Hospital himself, Billy volunteered to donate blood a very rare thing in those days. Major Frank Buckley, the regiment’s senior officer, described Gerrish as “…a splendid soldier, most willing and brave.” In November 1915 the footballers went to France to join the fighting. On 1 July 1916 the Battle of the Somme commenced and not long after the Footballers were sent to help the South African troops defending Delville Woods. The Generals decided that a right hook around the German defences would relieve the pressure and the Footballers were sent to lead the attack. During the battle early on the 8 August 1916 a German shell exploded severely wounding Billy in both legs. A Colleague said "he lay quietly smoking a cigarette, until picked up by the stretcher bearers". He died of his injuries later that day. Following his death one of Billy’s friends and a fellow footballer wrote home saying ‘Tell the boys of the club that Bill died a hero at the end and never a better hearted pal of mine lived’. Billy does not have a grave but his name appears on the Thiepval Memorial.

Shelagh Evans