[2] He was engaged to Nellie Jean Wigley (1885–1943);[3][4][5][6] she never married, and she died in Elsternwick, Victoria, on 22 April 1943.

[8] A non-smoker and non-drinker, and an accomplished sprinter,[9][10] Slater usually played as a defender, with stints in the midfield and up forward.

[11] An all-round sportsman, Slater made 101 for Geelong 'B' against Kardinia in the First Eleven match in the G.C.A.

[12] Due to work commitments in Melbourne in 1913, Slater intended to play with VFL team University; however, he played several matches with Hawthorn in the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA)[broken anchor]; and, when playing against Collingwood District on 3 May 1913, he dislocated his collar bone, and he refused to leave the ground so his team wouldn't be one man short.

Former League Champion of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries Peter Burns wrote of Slater in 1940: He left football at the outbreak of World War I in order to enlist;[15] he was Captain of the 22nd Battalion, and he lost his life during the conflict in Bullecourt, France.