William Heaton was born in Chorley in 1884 and was a half-brother to fellow Chorley Pal, Frank Buckley.
Sergeant Heaton was wounded in the hand on the 20th June 1916 when a shell hit the Pals trench at Serre. It killed fellow Sergeant William Duckworth from Oswaldtwistle, who was attached to the Chorley Pals (‘Y’ Company) from ‘X’ Company. The shell also slightly wounded Chorley Pal, Stanley Holgate and buried three others – one being Chorley Pal Richard Barrow.
Despite William’s wound, he continued in the Army until being discharged on the 19th February 1919.
Before the war, William worked for J & C Baines furniture removers in the town. He married Miriam Sharples at St. George’s Church in 1910. They set up home at 13 Wright Street in Chorley and had two children. After the war, William worked at Leyland Motors in Chorley looking after a large, rope-driven turbine machine; he died in 1949.
