William Oaklands Mellor was born in Brisbane in 1899 and enlisted in the AIF on 22 August 1917 as a Private in the 15th Battalion, Queensland Reinforcements. He had been an active naval cadet prior to the First World War which precluded him from enlisting earlier. He arrived in England in July 1918 and was posted to France where he was first attached to the AIF Base Depot at Rouelle from October 1918 and following the Armistice was part of the Graves Registration Detachment. He returned to Australia and was discharged in 1920. He continued his involvement in military activities following the war, including time in the 2nd Light Horse Regiment Citizen Forces, the Australian Instructional Corps, and the Cleveland platoon of the Voluntary Defence Corps. He died in 1982.