William Clarence Salter was born at Badsey in 1918, the eighth of nine children of Ernest Frederick Salter and his wife, Sarah (née Dicken). He was a pupil at Badsey Council School from 1927-1936.
William married Frances Rebecca (known as Becky) Wyld early in 1939; they had three daughters born in 1939, 1941 and 1943. At the start of the war, at the time of the 1939 Register, William and Becky and their first-born child lived at 47 Cambria Road, Evesham. William worked as a general assistant in farming, market gardening and fruit growing.
Private Salter (Service No 5573032) was killed in Italy on 30th July 1944, aged 26. He was serving with the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment at the time of his death according to the Commonwealth Graves Commission, although on the Badsey War Memorial, he is shown as serving with the Wiltshire Regiment. Private Salter is buried in Florence War Cemetery, Italy. The following words are inscribed on his grave: “Alone and unseen he stands at our side for death cannot divide, Becky and children.”
William’s widow later married Richard Yates in 1951; Becky died at Worcester in 1998.