Mr William Ernest Ings was born in Shirley, Southampton, Hampshire, England on 17 March 1892.

He was the son of Seaward Ings (1868-1904), a carpenter and joiner, and Rhoda Northover (1871-1952), both natives of Southampton who had married there in 1891.

He had three siblings: Harold Richard (b. 1894) and Dorothea Florence (1899-1904) and Victor Seaward (1901-1901). His youngest sibling Victor died after only a few days of life whilst his sister Dorothea died aged 4.

Ings first appears on the 1901 census living at 45 Stratton Road, Shirley with his parents and siblings. The year 1904 was to be a tragic one; his sister Dorothea died aged 4 followed by his father who died on 10 April aged 35. By the time of the 1911 census William is still living at 45 Stratton Road with his mother, brother Harold and grandfather Richard Northover; he is described as a booking clerk whilst his brother is a shop assistant in a drapery.

When William signed-on to the Titanic on 9 April 1912 he gave his address as 45 Stratton Road, Shirley. The Titanic was his first ship and as a scullion he received monthly wages of £3, 10s.

William Ings died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.

His mother was remarried in 1914 to Edward George Cresswell (1885-1975), a policeman, and she would have another son, Leslie (1916-1968). She remained in Southampton for the rest of her life, later living at 87 Oak Tree Road, Bitterne, and she died on 5 February 1953.

His brother Harold was married twice: first to Louisa Dennett in 1922 and, following the death of his wife in 1929, to Louisa Hunter in 1935. He had one child from his first marriage, Warner Ernest Richard (1923-2011), later an engineer. He spent his last years living in Marchwood, Hampshire but died in a London hospital on 19 July 1958.