William Francis Acton was a salesman at Paterson, Lang and Bruce, the firm of future Prime Minister Stanley Melbourne Bruce. The firm guaranteed him employment on his return from war service. He was 20 years and 10 months old when he enlisted on 19 July 1915 and taken on strength with the 16th Reinforcements, 8th Light Horse, on 10 May 1916.

The 8th Light Horse, formed at Broadmeadows, Victoria, in 1915, had arrived at the Gallipoli Peninsula in late May, 1915. Horses were useless in the Gallipoli campaign, so they fought as infantry, taking part in two waves in a disastrous attack on the Nek, suffering heavy casualties. They were afterwards removed to Egypt, where they became part of the ANZAC Mounted Division. In March, 1916, as part of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade, they joined the forces defending the Suez Canal from Turkish attack. It was at this stage that William Acton would have been involved in the fighting. The Turkish forces were turned at Romani. The 3rd Light Horse, later renamed to Australian Mounted Division, then took part in capturing the Turkish outpost at Maghdaba on 23 December 1916, and was involved in two failed attempts to capture Gaza on 27 March and 19 April 1917. They were deployed in the successful assault and capture of Beersheba. 

William Acton was initially given the rank of Acting Sergeant, but reverted to Lance-Corporal on 24 September 1916, owing to a 'surplus of establishment'. On 11 November 1916, he reverted to ranks at his own request and ended the war as a private. He had served in Alexandria, Abbassia and the Middle East and was discharged on 19 March 1920. The most probable reason for his decision to remain a private was that he suffered from severe malaria from 1916 onwards, having four major attacks which hospitalised him, as well as bouts of pleurisy. He was returned to Australia on board the Ypiringa on 7/10/1919, but was discharged to hospital in Adelaide on 24 November 1919, suffering from 'pleurisy with effusions'. He had served for 1704 days, from 19 July 1915, to 4 January 1920.

After the war, he moved to Seymour, where he joined the Victory Ex-Services Club.