William Francis Noel Bridges was born on 30 January 1890 at Middle Head, New South Wales, Australia, the second son and fourth of seven children, of Sir William Throsby Bridges and Edith Lilian née Francis (1862–1926).
Following the outbreak of World War I he travelled independently to England and joined the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, he subsequently enlisted in Australian Imperial Force on 23 August 1915.
[3] Bridges served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front, with the 25th Australian Infantry Battalion, where he was wounded in Flanders on 12 August 1918.
Following the end of World War I he resigned his appointment was demobilised on 21 March 1919 and returned to his post-war position in Malaysia.
During the Fall of Singapore Bridges along with a number of senior staff from the Malayan Survey Department, boarded the SS.