William was born in Hilsea, Hampshire in February 1872, to Thomas and Harriet Robbins.
He joined the army in 1887 at the age of 15 as a Boy Bugler in the Commissariat & Transport corps. In due course, he rose to the rank of Corporal. He married Florence Lawrence in 1894 and had a child, Ivy Florence in 1898.
He left the Army in January 1901 and re-enlisted in the Imperial Yeomanry in London the following month. He served in South Africa between March 1901 & July 1902, earning the Queens South Africa Medal with two clasps. He was discharged from the Imperial Yeomanry within weeks of the end of the Boer War.
Between 1905 and 1909, William spent time in the Stepney workhouse. By 1911 he was widowed, living as a boarder at an address in Holborn and working as a council clerk. In 1912, William married Adelaide Starnes and they set up home together High Road, Leyton, London.
William enlisted in the Royal Defence Corps during the Great War and served with 300th Protection Company in Home Defence Duties. He passed away at the VAD Hospital, Corsham on 22nd June 1917. He was 45 years old.
