Born: June 20, 1859, London, England.
Died: February 13, 1952, Great Ilford, Essex, England.
Buried: Barkingside, Ilford, Essex, after a funeral at Hospital Chapel of St. Mary and St. Thomas of Canterbury, where he was chaplain for 48 years.
William was the son of William Sparrow Simpson, a minor canon of St. Paul’s and rector of St. Vedast, Foster Lane.
He was educated at St. Paul’s School, London, and Trinity College, Cambridge (BA 1882, MA 1886).
He became an Anglican deacon in 1882, and priest in 1883. In 1904, he was appointed chaplain to St. Mary’s Hospital, Great Ilford.
He wrote the libretto for The Crucifixion, by John Stainer, in 1887.