TODAY (Friday) is an important day for a Kelty family who will mark the centenary since since William Inglis died in action in Flanders. 
The British offensive had aimed to drive the Germans away from the essential Channel Ports and to eliminate U-Boat bases on the coast. But unceasing rain and shellfire reduced the battlefield to a vast bog. This week to mark the anniversary we have the stories of two local soldiers who became victims of the problems.
William Inglis was someone who had become a good footballer starring for Kelty Rangers and then Raith Rovers. 
His great-grandson, Stephen Rennie, said: “I have done a bit of research about my own great-grandfather, William Anderson Turbayne Inglis, who served and was killed in WW1. He was born in Kingseat in 1884 and the family worked on a farm in Halbeath called The Glen but when he grew up he moved to Kelty and became a posting master, like a modern day delivery driver, but with a horse and cart.
“He operated the business from stables situated at the rear of his home behind what was in more recent times the Oakfield Hotel in Cocklaw Street. A keen footballer he played for Kelty Rangers but was so good Raith Rovers signed him in 1904 and he went on to play 229 games for them winning the Second Division Championship in 1907-08 season.”
Added Stehen “In 1906, William married Mary Wells, in Kelty, however, their marriage was sadly cut short when his new wife, who was only 21 years-old, died three weeks after the birth of their only son, William Inglis, our father and grandfather.
“In the years to follow, he raised his son with the help of his eldest sister Helen Bernard, before he was called for the service in the Great War and joined the Veterinary Corps.
“William was a Freemason and a member of Lodge 877 Kelty, his memory is honoured on the list of masons killed in WW1 on a plaque which still stands in the Masonic Hall in Kelty
“His name is also included on the north face of the War Memorial, which stands in Station Road. He was then transferred to the 8th (Service) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment where he was moved to the front line and was subsequently killed in West Flanders on October  6 1917 aged 33. He died leaving his only son an orphan at 10 years old”.
His wallet along with personal letters, photos and medals were returned to his family in Kelty and are still retained by them.
Stephen concluded: “In 2014 a project, to commemorate the lives lost in WW1, called “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red” was a work of installation art placed in the moat of the Tower of London, commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of World War I. It consisted of 888,246 hand made ceramic red poppies, each intended to represent one British or Colonial serviceman killed in the War. The title of the project was taken from the first line of a poem by an unknown World War I soldier). The family purchased a poppy in his honour which was initially displayed at Tower Bridge London and was then sent to family”.