Carole Fife has provided the following:
William was born in 1887 in Bedlington, the youngest of three children to Matthew and Margaret Steel. His brother John was 8 years older and his sister Ellen seven years older.. Their father was a miner and the family were living at Bell's Place Bedlington in 1891, before moving to Half Close House, near the Dun Cow Inn, where they were living at the times of the 1901 and 1911 censuses. In 1911 John was a stoneman in the pit, and William was a colliery labourer. William is named as living at 20 Pit Row (Old Colliery Row) when he enlisted. William was listed in the papers as wounded, then wounded and missing, before finally being declared to have been killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
He is remembered in Bedlington on B15.02, B15.06 and in B15.26 page 13
