A Salisbury solicitor who was instrumental in securing justice for a mum wrongly convicted of killing her babies has died of Covid aged 77.

William Bache, known as Bill, was famous for his work helping parents falsely accused of abusing or mistreating their children.

His best-known case is that of Angela Cannings – the Salisbury mum who, in 2002, was sentenced to life in prison for smothering her two sons.

In actual fact, the death of Mrs Cannings’ babies was down to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) but the opinions of a controversial paediatrician, who was later struck off, convinced the jury of her guilt. 

Bill, who had taken on her case, managed to clear his client’s name by challenging the flawed medical evidence provided by the prosecution and getting the conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Greg Stewart, a former colleague, said Ms Cannings’ case was just one example of how Bill “challenged the establishment and the establishment’s ways of doing things”.

“He wasn’t interested in money, he was interested in justice,” he said.

Bill’s career as a lawyer started at Bedford Row in London where he qualified in 1967.

In the early 1970s he moved to Salisbury where he worked as a country solicitor and as deputy coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon. 

After a few spells at different law firms, including one he set up himself, Bill joined GT Stewart seven to eight years ago.

Mr Stewart, managing director, remembers him as a “very considerate, well-spoken, civilised gent”.

“He took everybody as he found them. He dealt with very troubled clients with a huge amount of empathy and understanding.”

His greatest achievement, according to Mr Stewart, was showing that “just because there’s no evidence to the contrary it doesn’t mean that a parent has intentionally inflicted injuries on a child”.

Despite his success and reputation, Bill remained humble.

“I don’t even think he had a profile on LinkedIn but everyone who worked with him knew how good he was,” Mr Stewart said.

On December 28, Bill was taken to Salisbury District Hospital after contracting Covid-19. 

Despite the illness, he continued to work from his hospital bed.

He passed away on March 25. 

He was married to his wife Kim, 63, for 32 years and lived with her on St Mark’s Avenue.

She said Bill’s work/life balance “heavily weighed in favour of work”.

“He was so busy all the time with all sorts of cases,” she said.

However, in his spare time, Bill enjoyed life in Salisbury.

He sang in the choir at St Thomas’s Church, loved steam trains and holidays, both abroad and in the UK, and socialising with people in the city.

Bill leaves behind four children, Naomi, Abigail, James and Lucy, and two grandchildren, Henry and Millie.

A fundraiser has been set up in his name to raise money for Appeal, a charity law practice fighting miscarriages of justice.

Donations can be made HERE.

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