William Beck was born on the 26 August 1923, the son of William and Lucy Ellen Beck (nee Pearce), and came from Prescot near St Helens, Lancashire. His father William was a glass worker and William junior was also a glass worker (a glass bottle taker in).

He enlisted into The King’s Liverpool Regiment on the 10 April 1942, and then transferred to The Border Regiment on 23 February 1943. William married Annie Leigh in the July quarter of 1943 (marriage registered in Prescot).

William served in 19 Platoon of ‘D’ Company, which was commanded by Lt. John Bainbridge, and because there was already a ‘Bill’ Beck in the Platoon, William was nicknamed ‘Young Bill’. There is nothing to suggest he was related to the older man. The task of 19 Platoon was to fly in a Horsa glider on the Second Lift of Operation ‘Market-Garden’ as escort to the Motor Transport Platoon which was flying in five Horsa gliders with the Battalion Reserve ammunition. They were to take off from RAF Down Ampney on Monday, 18 September 1944, and land at LZ. ‘S ‘ near Wolfheze in Holland.

Extract from ‘When Dragons Flew’; ‘Lt John Bainbridge with 19 Platoon D Company, who had flown in from Down Ampney, also arrived safely and, although under light fire from time to time, made the 2-mile journey to the Company position without casualties.’ [1]

Pte. William ‘Young Bill’ Beck was either killed in action, or died of his wounds, on Sunday, 24 September 1944, aged 21. The son of William and Lucy Ellen Beck of St Helens, he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Groesbeek Memorial, Panel 4.

NOTES:
[1] ‘When Dragons Flew’, The illustrated History of the 1st Battalion The Border Regiment. Page 120.

Researched and written by Robert Hilton, with the assistance of Stuart Eastwood of the Border Regiment Museum, Carlisle Castle