William was the son of a soldier, also called William, and the grandson of a soldier, Henry. He had two brothers, Frederick who died aged 10 and Robert, another soldier, my great grandfather who was at the battle of First Ypres and lost a leg in 1915. He survived the war, but not its effects, killing himself in 1932. William's widow Kate married Walter Stevens, a carpenter and stayed in Godalming, my family stayed there too. Robert's widow Ada lived until 1972, her son Ron, my grandfather, was also a carpenter and joiner. As far as I know there are no photographs surviving of either man.

Andrew Shilcock