William George Kinggett was born around 1880, in Reigate, Surrey, to George Stone Kinggett and his wife Emily Jane. William was the eldest of two boys. His branch of the family came from Petworth in Surrey, very close to the place of origin of the Kingshott family. 

 

William married a lady called Rose Mary Teer who came from Orpington in Kent. They married in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, in 1903. I am aware of three children born to them, though there may have been more. They were Edith, Blanche and Muriel. The last child, Muriel, was born in 1913 and it seems that she was destined never to really know her father; a story which was echoed throughout the land. 

 

William trained as an upholsterer and can be found in Foots Cray, Kent in the 1901 census. By the 1911 census, he is married with two children, and working as a Furniture Salesman.

At the outbreak of the Great War, William initially joined the 14th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. This particular battalion was disbanded in France on 23rd March 1918. As a result, William was transferred to the 20th (Entrenching) Battalion. He was killed in action two days later.