William was born 9 September 1894 in the New Forest area of Southampton, the second child of William George and Lillian E. (née Maidment) Lowman. With an older sister Annie (1892) and younger sisters Alice ( 1899), Flora May (1902), brother John (1905), sisters Doris (1907) and Kathleen (1910) the family remained in the New Forest area of Hampshire.

William joined the Royal Navy on 24 January 1911 when he walked over the gangway of HMS IMPREGNABLE in Devonport dockyard and became a Boy Second Class. In September 1911 he was advanced to Boy First Class and drafted to HMS BERWICK on 7 October 1911. On the 15 January 1912  he went to Portsmouth and joined HMS VICTORY 1 for 10 days and then on 25 January joined  HMS IRRESISTIBLE, then to HMS MAGNIFICENT on 29 February, HMS VINDICTIVE on 8 May.  He was rated Ordinary Seaman on 9 September 1912 then to Able Seaman on 6 February 1913.

On the 14 April he was in HMS VENUS where he volunteered for submarines so on 14 November 1913 he received a draft to HMS DOLPHIN for submarine training. On the 18 June 1914 he was drafted to HMS MAIDSTONE in Harwich for HMS E3.

E3 sailed from Harwich on 16 October for a patrol area between the Ems Estuary and Borkum off the North West coast of Germany. A single torpedo fired by German Submarine U-27  from around 300 yards slammed into E3 in the afternoon of 18 October 1914. There were no survivors from the 28 crew of E3.

Able Seaman William George Lowman, Svc No. J10953, “Crossed The Bar” that afternoon with 27 of his shipmates.