William Thornton

William was born 16 March 1883 in Attercliffe, Sheffield, fourth child of Charles Thornton and Ann Eliza Dewsnap. After his mother's death in 1885, William was brought up by his uncle and aunt, Miles and Elizabeth, at Mexborough where Miles was a railway inspector, and later, stationmaster.

After leaving school, William became a telegraph messenger based at the station. Later, during the First World War, he was a dispatch rider in North Africa. He played football for Hull City and Denaby United, and set up a coal agency with a partner in Hull. After the partnership broke up, he returned to Mexborough, and became a checkweighman at Denaby colliery. The position of checkweighman had been introduced in the 1850s after long-running disputes over the amount of coal that miners produced. Typically, they were paid for the amount of full corves, or wagons, that they sent to the surface. If they were 'badly filled' or deemed to be deficient in weight, they were rejected and no payment was made. The checkweighman was therefore seen as an impartial position who determined the pay for the miners.

He married Hannah Ellen Cross, (born in Sculcoates in 1886), in 1908 at Sculcoates, and had five children : William, Sidney, Ronald, Eileen, and George Miles.

William died on 3 June 1966, Hannah died in 1968.

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