William Powell “Hap” England was born on October 15, 1910, in Greenville, Hunt County, Texas. He was the son of George Lewton England and Lennie G Helms England.

William served in the 535th Bomber Squadron, 381st Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Engineer on the B-17 #42-31097 'Mission Belle' during World War II. He was one of the survivors of their December 1, 1943 mission over Leverkusen, Germany, when their aircraft was hit by flak and attacked by enemy fighters. The airplane was severely damaged, so the crew decided to ditch the airplane in the River Lek between Streefkerk and Nieuw-Lekkerland, Netherlands. During the enemy attack, one member was Killed in Action while two other members drowned in the river. The surviving members were taken as POWs. SSgt England was sent to Stalag Luft 1 near Barth, Western Pomerania, Germany.