The son of Benjamin and Maria Dancer, William was born in West Bromwich in 1890. In 1891, the family were living at Guns Lane, West Bromwich, along with William’s siblings Henry and Erny. They were at 44 Guns Lane in 1901, by which date William had younger siblings Maud, Lily, Phoebe and Benjamin. They were at 16 Guns Lane in 1911, by which date William was working as a carter. At some point, William was employed as a goods porter for the London & North Western Railway at Wolverhampton Railway Station. In 1912, he married Emily Charles in West Bromwich, and the couple had two daughters, Emily M. (1914) and Ellen (1917).

William enlisted in the 1st/5th Battalion of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers (service number 32615). Unfortunately he was killed in action on 10 October 1918. He is buried at Zantvoorde British Cemetery in Belgium, and is remembered on the Wolverhampton Railway Station memorial.