William was born in Melton, Suffolk, on 18th September 1889 and, by 1911, at the age of twenty-two, he had left the family home to work as a groom in Fryerning, near Ingatestone in Essex. He enlisted in the army shortly after the outbreak of war and served with the Army Service Corps in Manchester. William travelled to France on 18th January 1915. His service number prefix, M2, indicated that he was involved in mechanical transport. For his war service, William received the 1914-15 Star and the British War and Victory Medals.

In 1921, when the war was over, William married Grace Olinda Edwards, in the Chelmsford area. He died in 1931 while living near Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. William and Grace had one child, William, born in 1924.