Toowoomba-based William Binns played football for Western Suburbs before enlisting in December 1915. He was wounded in action in France in July 1917 while with the 42nd Battalion, returning two months later. Binns spent 1918 yo-yoing between France and England, where he attended the Lyndhurst Bombing School as part of the 9th Training Battalion, and the School of Musketry at Haying Island.
Some confusion arose during the war regarding his rank. His family wrote a series of letters to the AIF, one of which stated Binns was a Sergeant. According to his family he had passed the Sergeant exam during training in Australia and was officially promoted once he arrived in England. The records office replied Binns was Lance Corporal, which seemingly tallies with his discharge papers in 1919. However, a typed transcription of his hand-written records held by the National Archives stated he was promoted to Sergeant in January 1917, and the Sgt abbreviation was used throughout his handwritten records, as well as newspaper articles after the war.