William Edmund Wallis was born in London, England on 19 June 1852. He was articled to Henry Astley Darbyshire (1825-1899) in London from 1867 to 1872 and remained with him as his assistant until c.1881. He also attended the Royal Academy Schools in London. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1882 and subsequently worked as architect and surveyor to the Governors of the Peabody Trust in London.
His address was given as 4 Trafalgar Square, London in 1890 and 1902; Hill Cottage, Buxton Lane, Caterham, Surrey in 1911. He died in Littlehampton, West Sussex on 19 June 1912
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 102, 28 June 1912 p. 778