William was the second son of William Henry Galpin and Mary Elizabeth Galpin (nee Francis). He was born in Plymouth on 1st September 1890 and educated at Lipson House School, Plymouth and obtained an Honours in a Cambridge Local Exam.

In the 1911 census he is a boarder at the house of Alfred Jago, 75 Fore Street, Bodmin. His occupation is given as ‘Builders Clerk General’. He eventually becomes a quantity surveyor on the staff of H.M. Office of Works, Westminster.

He had been a Boy Scout and while living at Plymouth he served as Assistant Scoutmaster of the 3rd Plymouth Troop under Rev Westby Brady and when at Bodmin formed a small troop of Scouts (see end of article). He received his Baden Powell leaders warrant on 7th June, 1910.

He had been a Territorial about four years, first at Bodmin, while holding an appointment with Mr. W. E. Bennett, contractor, he joined the Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry at Bodmin in 1911, but in 1913 transferred to the London Rifle Brigade.

He volunteered for service on the outbreak of war and on the 4th November 1914, went to France where he was attached to the 11th Brigade (4th Division). He took a full part in the fighting around Ypres and in the very last letter he wrote home he described how he, with others had carried a wounded comrade two miles to a dressing station.

In a letter to his parents, dated 5th May he wrote:

“We have now had nine days in the trenches. We arrived at our position about 1 pm after four or five hours march and started to dig ourselves in. Soon after daybreak a German aeroplane went up, and then the shells commenced to fall. Our regiment was extended in an egg-shaped wedge and we were assaulted from three sides with shrapnel, high explosives and ’stinkers’ falling on us. Regulars who had been at Neuve Chapelle said that was nothing compared with this.” At night we had to fall back and dig ourselves a fresh line of trenches. The same thing went on all through the next day. We were able to counts six shells a minute bursting in our immediate vicinity and this went on all day more or less. Our poor boys were hit by the score. At night we again retired, this time to a position that had been prepared for us by the reserves and this we have since held for nine days altogether.”

‘Frank’ was killed in action on 13th May 1915 at Wieltje during the 2nd Battle of Ypres, the same day Sergeant Belcher of his Battalion was awarded the V.C. He has no known grave and is Remembered with Honour on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.

"During his residence in Bodmin the deceased made many friends. He took great interest in the Boys’ Scout movement, was a brilliant pianist and a member of the Wesleyan Church Choir. Much sympathy is felt for his parents (his father being well-known in the building trade throughout Cornwall) and also with his fiancé, Miss Martie Bricknell."

A Scout memorial in St Petroc's Church, Bodmin commemorates seven Bodmin Scouts who fell in WW1.

Private Norman Charles Frazier 8th Bn. East Lancashire Regiment.

Driver Thomas "George" Hambly Army Service Corps. 

Serjeant (Instructor) Frederick Pendennis Holman "A" Coy. 2nd/4th Bn. Devonshire Regiment.

Corporal Fred Keat 1st/18th Bn. London Regiment (London Irish Rifles).

Second Lieutenant John Henry Lawrance 3rd Bn. attd. 1st Bn. Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.

Private Harry Osborn 3rd Bn., Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. 

Private Harry Thomas 8th Bn., Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.