William was born on 24 August 1892 in Redhill (Reigate), Surrey to single parent Mary Hards and lived with Mary’s parents in Poplar Terrace, Horley, Reigate, Surrey. Though Mary moved away to become a live in servant, William continued to live with his maternal grandparents John & Emily Hards until he joined the Royal Navy in May 1911. A second son was born in 1894 in Reigate and named on registration as Thomas Mathew Cassell Hards and was living with his mother in 1901 after she had married Anthony King in 1899 and the family had settled in Reigate.

William entered HMS PEMBROKE ll in Chatham  on 31 May 1911 as a Sto 2c when he was 18 years old with civilian employment as a “Tool Grinder” recorded on his service documents. After four months basic training  he left PEMBROKE ll on 13 October 1911 and joined HMS INFLEXIBLE a battlecruiser of the Invincible Class with a crew of 784 and a lot of coal fired boilers to feed. While serving on this capital ship he passed and was promoted to Stoker l class (Sto lc) and was drafted on 4 November 1912 for a week back in PEMBROKE ll.

On 13 November 1912 he joined HMS HEBE, an ex-Torpedo Boat that had been converted into a submarine depot ship in 1907 and was now based in Sheerness. On 1 January 1914 he joined HMS BONAVENTURE  based on the Tyne and looking after the 6th Submarine Flotilla. It was from here he married 18 year old Florence Mary Smith on 7 February 1915 in her home town of Tendring in Essex before returning to the North East to complete his time on BONAVENTURE leaving on 18 January 1916. He was drafted to Harwich for a month on HMS MAIDSTONE until 14 February 1916 when a draft to HMS DOLPHIN had him travel down to Portsmouth for a 6 week training course and return to MAIDSTONE on 31 March 1916, for HMS E50.

William and Mary’s first child was born in the Summer of 1916 and given the name Florence Mary Cavill Hards. William was promoted to Acting Leading Stoker  on 1 November 1917.

On the morning of 21 January 1918, E50 cast off from MAIDSTONE and turned East into the North Sea to patrol off the coast of Denmark. She was not seen or heard from again until 2011 when a Danish diving expedition found and surveyed the wreckage that lay in three parts on the sea bed 64 nm West of the coast of Denmark. The conning tower lay covered in fishing nets separate from other two large pieces and the decision was made to recover the tower section to save further damage. The tower was successfully recovered, cleaned and restored to a good condition and is now on public display in the maritime museum of the town of Thyborøn, Denmark.

Two months after her husband left to go out on patrol, Florence gave birth on the 23 March 1918 to their second child, another daughter given the names Winifred Dorothy Louisa Hards. Both children were baptised on the same day on 22 May 1918 in Dovercourt, Essex, 4 months after the Father had left and disappeared.

William Hards is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial on Panel 29.