Career
Saunders was a sergeant in the 18th Divisional Workshops, Royal Army Ordnance Corps during the Second World War. He was killed in action when his ship was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean in March 1942. His name is listed on the Kranji War Memorial.
In December 2014, Saunders and other Sunderland players who lost their lives during the two world wars were commemorated with a statue outside the Stadium of Light.