Nigel
Williams
With thanks to Niall Crozier and the The
Portadown Times for permission to use.
A former Portadown College pupil who went on to
become Northern Ireland's first Children's Commissioner has died. Nigel
Williams, who was 51, died following a two-year battle with cancer.
During his time at Portadown College the Williams family lived at
Gilford Road close to the school at which he was to make a name for
himself in a variety of ways. He played No.8 in the John
Douglas-captained College side which won the 1973 Subsidiary Shield by
beating Belfast Boys' Model, the previous year's Schools' Cup winners,
in the Ravenhill final, the locals' first ever triumph at the IRFU's
Ulster Branch headquarters. He was a very good athlete, too, starring
annually in the green of Seale House. And he was an excellent Shylock in
the school's 1972 Celia Lewis-produced Merchant of Venice. He was also a
prefect and much involved in the College's Scripture Union.
AMBULANCES
Significantly, at the age of 16, he was a member of the eight-strong -
four teachers and four boys - party which drove to India in 1971 to
deliver two ambulances, each crammed with medical supplies. The leader
of that expedition, now-retired PE teacher, Jack Mulligan, recalls,
"India and Pakistan were at war when we were making that trip, which
meant we couldn't use the Khyber Pass. We had to find another way, much
longer and across deserts where the temperature got up to 125
degrees-plus. "It was a real test, both physically and mentally, for we
found ourselves in some very difficult and extremely dangerous
situations. At times like that you need to know you can rely on those
around you. Nigel was a boy of whom you had no doubts. "He never did
anything other than to the very best of his ability. That was true of
his academic work, he was a very clever boy and in his approach to rugby
and athletics, too. Indeed, to everything. "Nobody worked harder to get
things right and, as a result, he succeeded in everything he undertook.
"I hold him in the very highest regard. He was a boy you could treat as
a friend, totally safe in the knowledge that he knew exactly where the
line between teacher and pupil was and could be relied on never to cross
it. He was very special.
GUEST OF HONOUR
Indeed, such was the esteem in which he was held that, two years ago, he
returned to the College as the Prize Day guest of honour. He did not
begin his secondary-level education at PC, however, for it was mid-way
through first year - in the pre-Dickson Plan days of an ll-plus intake -
that he enrolled into Killicomain Secondary School. Prior to that he
attended Coleraine Academical Institution, his family home having been
in Limavady. Academically he excelled in English, Maths, Science and
Geography. And when he left school after passing his A-Levels with
flying colours in 1973, he went to Cambridge. Having graduated, he
joined the Civil Service in 1976. Eight years later he launched his own
business in the then-new field of computer training. Then, in 1988,
Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) appointed him to the
important post of head of its Westminster-based public policy team.
LIB-DEM COUNCILLOR
Amicable, eloquent and committed to helping others, in the mid-1990s he
found time to serve as a Liberal Democrat member of Southwark Council in
London. That was a particularly busy and significant period of his life,
for 1995 also saw him founding Childnet International, a charity with
the rights and protection of children at its core. It championed the
fight against internet abuse and exploitation, for example. His
appointment, by the Home Secretary, to a taskforce on child protection
on the internet followed in 2001. And in view of his qualifications,
track record and proven commitment, it came as no surprise when he was
named as Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People in
October, 2003. In that it entailed championing youngsters' rights, that
was a position tailor-made for him. From the outset, he impressed in the
new role, as the tributes from those with whom he worked confirm. Barney
McNeany, the commission's Chief Executive, said, "Ireland's children
have lost a champion and we have lost a friend and colleague." In its
editorial column, Wednesday's News Letter highlighted Nigel's work and
described his death as being 'a tragic loss not just to his family but
Northern Ireland as a whole'.
COURAGE
It concluded, 'His cause crossed all boundaries and tributes and
condolences have poured in from all quarters. He will be sadly missed by
all'. In addition to having earned that accolade in print, he drew this
verbal endorsement from the SDLP's Armagh City and District Council
member, Councillor Sharon Haughey. "I brought Nigel to our party's
offices in Armagh some months ago for a meeting on funding for
pre-school children," she said. "He gave his support to Clady Tiny Tots
and Tandragee's Button Moon. I first met him in Washington DC in 2003,
prior to him officially taking up his post as Northern Ireland's first
Children's Commissioner. "He was a man of courage. For two years he
battled against cancer with great dignity and bravery. He didn't let his
illness stop him making a real difference to the lives of young people
in Northern Ireland. "He was committed to his role and achieved a lot.
Anyone who has ever known Nigel will remember his great spirit, a source
of hope and enthusiasm which will stay with us, even though he, sadly,
has gone. "We have lost a true champion for young people." Despite his
failing health, he continued his campaign for children and young people
pressing the Government for additional funding for those with special
needs.
MOVED
On seeing a north Belfast street shrine to young people who had taken
their own lives he was moved to apply himself to address the problem of
teenage suicides too. And as recently as January 2006, he met Education
Minister, Angela Smith, to express his concern that three convicted sex
offenders were working in Ulster schools. A Remembrance Board has been
opened on the website of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children
and Young People to pay tribute to the life and work of Nigel Williams.
Acting Commissioner at NICCY, Ban McNeany, said, "With Nigel's passion
for technology and the positives benefits it brings to children and
young people, it is appropriate to use the NICCY website to mark his
death. "We will also be considering lasting ways we can mark Nigel's
contribution to children and young people and their rights in Northern
Ireland and further afield." A service of thanksgiving for Nigel's life
was held at Cairncastle Presbyterian Church, followed by internment at
Glenarm Cemetery. He is survived by his wife Heather, daughters Kathryn,
Lynda and Elizabeth and son Simon.