William George Rail was born on 5 July 1897 in Swansea. He was the son of William John Rail, a Mariner, and his wife Harriet.

The first surviving record of him is the 1901 census, where he is listed as a 3-year-old living with his mother and grandparents at 126 Pentre Estyll Street, Swansea.

In 1910, he enrolled at the Swansea Municipal Secondary School but left just a year later to travel to Canada.

His time in Canada appears to have been brief and by 1914, he had returned to Swansea and enlisted in the Territorial Force in April of that year.

At the outbreak of the Great War, he was embodied for War Service and served for the next 5 years as a Driver in the Royal Field Artillery. He was finally discharged in February 1919.

In 1920, he married Beatrice Laura Davies, and a year later they had their only child Terrance Stratton. According to his granddaughter:

He had one son, my father. However, after my grandmother (William’s wife) became sick with tuberculosis and died in the 1928 in Australia, William George Rail and my father returned to Los Angeles. He went on to get remarried and also served in World War II as an older man.

Records of Williams later life are sparse, but it appears that he followed his father’s footsteps and worked as a Ships Steward on vessels out of the USA. His grand-daughter confirmed that he died in 1953 when he fell overboard from a ship he was working on.

William George Rail enlisted in the 1st Welsh (Howitzer) Brigade as a Driver on 1 April 1914, just 3 months before his 17th birthday. This was unusual as the minimum age for recruitment was 17 and his granddaughter confirmed:

He lied about his age to get into the military. My father had remembered that fact and told me many years ago.

Unfortunately, his service record was destroyed in the Blitz, however it is possible to reconstruct elements of it together using surviving fragments of information.

Being from Swansea, it is likely that he was a member of the 1st Glamorgan Battery, which was based at a Drill Hall on Richardson Street, about a 2-mile walk from his home on Vivian Street.

At the outbreak of the Great War, Dvr Rail was most likely preparing for his first summer camp with the Brigade. This was quickly cancelled and he, along with his comrades, were embodied for War Service.

The Brigade immediately moved to Shrewsbury and shortly after to Northampton. During this time, the men were asked to volunteer for Imperial Service (to serve overseas). It is clear that Dvr Rail volunteered and he would have proudly worn a silver Imperial Service badge on his chest for the remainder of 1914.

Just prior to Christmas 1914, the Brigade moved to Cambridge and in May 1915 continued their training in Bedford.

Finally, in November 1915, the Brigade was given orders to travel overseas and on the night of 21/22 November 1915 crossed the channel from Southampton to Le Havre. Once again, it appears that Dvr Rail had lied about his age - the minimum age for overseas service was 19, but he had just turned 18 when he travelled to France.

From Le Havre the Brigade moved south and spent a week acclimatising to the front line in a quiet sector on the Somme, an area that would become the southern edge of the Somme battlefield just six months later.

In January 1916, the Brigade received orders to join their Division - the 53rd Welsh (Territorial) Division - in Egypt. In February 1916, they crossed the Mediterranean from Marseilles to Alexandria. Whilst there is no direct evidence that Dvr Rail made this journey, family records state:

"William George Rail spent five years in Egypt while serving in the military."

From there, the Brigade moved to Beni Salama, south of Cairo, to acclimatise to the desert conditions. During this period, the men had spare time and many of them went into Cairo to see the ancient sites. In June, they moved to Ismalia, and for the next 5 months were tasked with defending the Suez Canal from Turkish attack. This was hot and uneventful work.

Later in the year, their commander decided that attack would be the best form of defence. In November 1916, along with the rest of the army the Brigade crossed the Sinai Desert and laid siege to Gaza. After two unsuccessful battles in early 1917, their general was replaced, and Gaza and Jerusalem were taken in November/December 1917.

Just before the Third Battle of Gaza, Dvr Rail was admitted to hospital in Alexandria suffering from flat feet. His medical record lists him as a member of 265 Bde RFA, which was the new name of the 1st Glamorgan Battery, so it is reasonable to assume that he had served with them throughout. He was discharged from hospital after 3 weeks and likely returned to his unit, but this cannot be certain.

Driver William George Rail was finally discharged on 21 February 1919. For his service, he received the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. He also received the Silver War Badge to recognise the long-term illness he endured.