William entered the war in France on 18th November 1915. He is mentioned in the 101st Field Ambulance war diary as being wounded by shrapnel in the buttock at 10.00 p.m. on 2nd November 1916. It is also recorded that after hospital treatment in England, William was posted to Egypt. He was on board the Hired Transport "Transylvania", when it was proceeding to Egypt with reinforcements, and was sunk by a torpedo by the German U-boat U-63 off Cape Vado, a few kilometres south of Savona. William was the son of the late Mr and Mrs Vinney of 13 Skinner Street. St John's, Worcester; and the husband of Anna Louisa Tomlin (formerly Vinney) of 51 Waterloo Street, St. Peters, Cheltenham.