When the South African Rugby Union team made a three-month long tour of England & Wales in 1906, their arrival in Wales was to be celebrated in Sophia Gardens with a firework display.
As 17 year old William watched the display in October 1906, a rocket fell from the sky and set fire to his clothes. Bystanders tried to extinguish the flames with their bare hands, but on 1st November William died from his wounds. The Inquest returned a verdict of "Accidental death".