Sir Tasker Watkins, who died on 9 September, 2007, aged 88, was arguably one of the greatest Welshmen of the 20th century.

In a dynamic career lasting more than 60 years, Sir Tasker made remarkable and lasting contributions to Britain in the fields of justice, sport and the military.

He received a host of awards and honours throughout his lifetime, including a Victoria Cross for his exceptional courage and determination in World War II.

In law, Sir Tasker served as Lord Justice of Appeal and deputy Lord Chief Justice and was the first Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales. But his biggest passion was rugby and he was President of the Welsh Rugby Union for 11 years.

Friends and colleagues will remember Sir Tasker as a warm, companionable man, whose contribution to Wales in so many different capacities will never be forgotten.

The son of a miner, Tasker Watkins was born on 18 November, 1918, in Nelson, Caerphilly, and was a scholarship pupil at Pontypridd Boys' Grammar School. After his education, he taught briefly in London before training to become a commercial attache.

When World War II broke out, Sir Tasker joined The Welsh Regiment and was appointed lieutenant in the 1/5th battalion. His actions at the Battle of the Falaise Gap in August, 1944, won him the Victoria Cross for leading a one-man assault on a German machine gun post.

The first Welshman to receive the award in the World War II, Sir Tasker’s citation reads: "His superb leadership not only saved his men, but decisively influenced the course of the battle." Sir Tasker was promoted to Major, but was wounded in action in Holland on October 27 and sent back to England.

With his Army days over, Sir Tasker decided to embark on a legal career. In 1948, he was called to the bar and became a barrister at the Middle Temple. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1965, assisting Attorney-General Sir Elwyn Jones on the Aberfan disaster tribunal the following year.

Between 1962 and 1971, Sir Tasker was deputy chairman of Radnorshire Quarter Sessions and then Carmarthenshire Quarter Sessions. He was also Recorder of Merthyr Tydfil and later Swansea until 1971. Sir Tasker was called to the bench in 1970 and became Leader of the Wales and Chester Circuit.

He received his Knighthood in 1971 and served as Judge of the High Court of Justice, Family Division, until 1974. He then moved to the Queen's Bench Division, where he remained for six years.

Sir Tasker was promoted to Presiding Judge of the Wales and Chester Circuit in 1975 and in 1983 was appointed senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales to the Court of Appeal. He stayed in this post for eight years, eventually becoming deputy Lord Chief Justice.

Sir Tasker was also a talented and passionate Rugby Union player, representing the Army, Cardiff RFC and Glamorgan Wanderers as an outside-half. He was president of the Welsh Rugby Union between 1993 and 2004, making him the second longest serving president in the WRU's 123-year history. He was appointed honorary life vice patron.

From 1987 to 1998, Sir Tasker was also the president of the University of Wales College of Medicine. But his longest presidency was with the British Legion in Wales, where he stayed from 1947 until 1968.

Sir Tasker died at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff on 9 September, 2007, a few weeks after a fall at his home in Llandaff. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Eirwen Evans, and their daughter. He had lost his son in 1982.

Sir Tasker was a prolific polymath, and his many services to Britain were recognised in 1990 when he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire and then Knight of Justice of the Order of St John in 1998. But perhaps most importantly for this committed Welshman, he was made a Freeman of the City of Cardiff in April 2006.

At his Freeman ceremony, Lord Mayor Freda Salway described him as "one of Wales' most notable citizens", a sentiment reflected in the tributes that came pouring in after his death. Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan called Sir Watkins a "unique institution," and "one of the outstanding Welshmen of the 20th Century".

He added: "I don't think we'll see many more like Tasker Watkins".

The Welsh team wore black armbands for their 2007 Rugby World Cup game against Canada in memory of their former President. WRU chairman David Pickering said: "Sir Tasker was one of the greatest living Welshmen throughout his fantastic life. He will be remembered as one of our nation’s heroes; a man who was an inspiration to so many people in so any ways."

WRU president Dennis Gethin, who served as secretary during Sir Tasker’s presidency, said: "He was small in stature, but in every sense a colossus and Wales is a poorer place without him".