William was educated at Collegiate School, Leaming, then for 20 years was a Sanitary Inspector for the Torquay Corporation. He was also a member of the St John’s Ambulance Brigade. He enlisted in the R.A.M.C. (T.F.) on 9th August 1915 and was embodied into the 1/1 Wessex Casualty Clearing Station. He was 45 years old at the time. On 27th May 1916, William was promoted to the rank of Serjeant, then embarked at Southampton. He disembarked the next day at Havre, entering the war in France on 28th May 1916. He received a bomb wound to his right arm at Noyon on 22nd March 1918 but continued working and evacuated the hospital there just before the German advance on the 24th. He was admitted into his unit and on recovery he was sent to another hospital and was killed at No 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Doullens by a bomb dropped by enemy aircraft. An office wrote: “His skilled work and expert advice has more than once during the long time he has been with us brought credit to this unit, and the vacancy left by his death will therefore be the more difficult to fill.” William was the son of William and Emma Watson of Leamington Spa; and the husband of Ida Louisa (daughter of W J Hambley) Watson of 23 Chatsworth Road, Torquay - married at Leamington Spa on 13th February 1899.