A FIRST WORLD War soldier from West Fife who was buried in an unmarked grave will finally be commemorated with a headstone.

William Salmond, a corporal in the 7th Black Watch who was born in Townhill and lived in Kelty, died more than a century ago in May 1917.

He was seriously wounded in the Great War and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) discovered he was laid to rest in an unmarked lair in Dunfermline Cemetery.

Volunteer Dave Dykes made an appeal in the Press in 2022, to try and find any relations of William, and told us this week: "After more than 100 years a headstone has been delivered and will be installed next month.

"William had a number of siblings and it would be wonderful if any descendants could be found and invited to a ceremony at the appropriate time.

Dunfermline Press: Corporal William Salmond, who died in 1917, was buried in an unmarked grave in Dunfermline Cemetery. A headstone will be installed next month. Corporal William Salmond, who died in 1917, was buried in an unmarked grave in Dunfermline Cemetery. A headstone will be installed next month. (Image: Newsquest)

"I’m hoping that the British Legion in Dunfermline and the Black Watch Association might also be interested."

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He added: "The commission have an ongoing programme of replacing old headstones and installing new ones for people like William who haven’t been commemorated with a headstone.

"They are manufactured in the commission's own workshops and delivered in their thousands to cemeteries all over the world."

Born in Townhill, the son of John and Catherine Salmond, William was a corporal in the 7th battalion of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) and died on May 3, 1917, when he was just 24.

He came from mining stock and, according to the 1911 census, the family lived at Millers Buildings in Kelty.

The entry at that time included John, 56, George, 25, Grace, 24, John, 3, Robert, 23, William, 18, Catherine, 15, and Charles, 27.

William and his older brother, Charles, both died during the Great War and are commemorated on the Kelty War Memorial.

Charles has no known grave and his name is on the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing in Belgium.

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A CWGC memorial, it commemorates more than 11,000 servicemen of the UK and South African forces who died in this sector during the First World War and have no known grave.

Their website explains: "Most of those commemorated by the memorial did not die in major offensives, such as those which took place around Ypres to the north, or Loos to the south.

"Most were killed in the course of the day-to-day trench warfare which characterised this part of the line, or in small scale set engagements, usually carried out in support of the major attacks taking place elsewhere."

The sounding of the Last Post takes place at the memorial on the first Friday of every month at 7pm.

The CWGC's mission is to "honour and care for the men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the First and Second World Wars, ensuring they will never be forgotten".