William was born in July 1882 in Ipswich, he and his family moved to Felixstowe when he was a child.  His father Charles worked for a dairy delivering milk whilst his mother Anna was a housewife.  He had one older brother and 3 younger brothers.  He married Louisa Sarah Rebecca Butcher and they had a daughter Mary Louise in 1912.  During the war they lived at 23 Cornwall Road, Felixstowe.

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William served as a Gunner in 'P' Anti Aircraft Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery.  He died in 41 Stationary Hospital on 10 December 1918, after the end of the war, he was 35.  He is buried at Villers Bretonneux Military Cemetery in France.