Billy Williams, also called “Billy Twice” or “Billy with Jesus,” grew up in a modest miner’s cottage in the town of Aberowen, Wales. He is a heroic character and a natural leader. Billy’s father, known as Dai Union, is a staunch unionist, who advocates passionately for the rights of the miners against the powerful and unsympathetic management. Billy is influenced by his father’s politics despite their antagonistic relationship and becomes a leader in the war (he is promoted to the rank of sergeant) and later becomes a member of Parliament for Aberowen.

Billy is a dynamic character, who develops significantly through the course of the novel. As a child, he was a passionate believer in God, becoming known as “Billy with Jesus” when he claimed to have been accompanied by Jesus in the darkness of the pit. However, as a teenager, he angrily leaves the church never to return after his sister Ethel is condemned by the congregation for her pregnancy out of wedlock. This demonstrates that Billy is a person of principle, who will proudly stand up for what’s right.

At the Battle of the Somme, Billy steps up to lead the other men in his division safely across no-man’s land after their commanding officer is injured.