William White Wilkin's father was of the same name, and his mother was Hannah Anderson Wilkin.

He went to the High School from 1904 to 1910, and on leaving went to be a clerk in a shipowner's office.

He joined the Quayside Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers as a Private cadet, and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on 1-Aug-1917.

While in action (probably in Flanders), he was reported missing on 26-Oct-1917 and presumed to have been killed. He is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial in West Flanders, Belgium.