William Stephen Parris was born sometime in 1870 In the village of FRISTON  Sussex England, the son of William (senior) a 29 year old agricultural labour and his wife Mary Ann nee Smith.

On the 1881 census records William has agricultural labour aged 11 years old living with his parents and 4 siblings at Farm cottage FRISTON, by the 1891 William was working for Lord Willingdon of RATTON Hall in Willington has a groom and was living above the Stables. On the 12 February 1900 aged  30 years he had enlisted into 56th  Imperial Yeomanry  he was send to South Africa to take part in Boer War he serviced in the Provisional Transvaal Constabulary  until he was discharge on the 16 May 1902.

After begin discharge William went of the radar until he showed up in Fermoy  Cork, Ireland,  in  1914 where upon he enlisted in  5th (service) Battalion Royal Regiment (Pioneers) aged 44, The Regiment arrived in Salonika Greece, on the 6th October 1915 has part of the M.E.F and stayed in Greece until the Regiment moved to Palestine in September 1917.

On the 9th October 1917 William admitted from the 25 CCS  his service records are unclear has to why because they water damage but I do know that he was transferred to 968 A.E Company of  the Labour Corps .On the 28 February he was killed in a car accident whist returning from duty Constantinople somehow the car overturned and ended up in the BOSPHORUS river  he was drown. William was laid to rest  the Commonwealth Cemetery at Haidar PADHA  just outside Istanbul in Turkey  on the 1st of March 1919, I find it a  very sad  end of  William life having survived  both the Boer War and the first World War  only to be killed a freak accident  William Stephen Parris was my second Great Uncle