William Thomas Evans was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England on 17 June 1878. He was the son of George Evans (b. 1844) and Mary Ann Riggs (b. 1843), both natives of Southampton who had married in 1870. He had two known siblings: Amelia (b. 1877) and Harry Walter (b. 1882).

William first appears on the 1881 census. At that time he and his family were living at 23 King Street, Southampton and his father was described as a carter. They are at 27 (?) King Street by the time of the 1891 census. His father died around 1892 and by the time of the 1901 census he, his widowed mother and his brother are living at College Street, St Mary, Southampton. He and his brother were already working at sea. On the 1911 census William and his mother are listed as living with his married sister Amelia Stanley at 11 Ryde Terrace, Southampton and he was described as an unmarried ship's furnace stoker.

When William signed on to the Titanic¸ on 6 April 1912 in Southampton, he gave his address as 94 Manor Road, Itchen. His previous ship had been the Olympic. As a trimmer he could expect monthly wages of £5 10s.

William Evans was lost in the sinking. His body (#31) was later recovered by the Mackay-Bennett but was buried at sea:

His mother continued to live in Southampton and is believed to have died in the early 1920s.