William Gogarty was born in Ince in Makerfield a suburb of Wigan , Lancashire in 1896. William was 5 years old when his father died in November 1900 as a result of an accident on the railway and TB. In the 1901 census he was living with his mother Sarah Geogarty ( nee Owens), brother Ernest (1), sister Ester (3) and his aunty Elizabeth Owens , a cotton mill worker at 9, Old Hall Street in Ince in Makersfield.

At age 18, in 1914 he joined the army on 19th October 1914 as a volunteer. he signed a short Service contract that required him to do 3 years service or stay in uniform until the end of the war, His service number was 2694. He joined the 5th regiment the Manchester Battalion, of the Royal Artillery. The 5th regiment was recruited from Wigan. The general pay for a private in WW1 was 3 shillings and 6 pence a week. He was living at 34 Frederick St, Ince in Makerfield at the time of his joining the army. An extra 38 battalions were formed for the Manchester regiment at that time.

It is unknown where his regiment served. The records for the Manchester regiment show that they were involved at the start of the war in Alexandria Egypt, In 1915 in Gallipoli, 1916 Suez, 1917 France western front and Passchendale, in 1918 the battallion ended the war in France. Also a part of the regiment was a territorial force in the UK. Family memories shed some light on this question, there are memories of him being wounded during the war, re-couperating then being sent back to the front in France. The feeling is he served in France.

He was discharged from the Royal Artillery , ref 248162 on the 18th of August 1918. His conduct was listed as Good. He was determined to be physically unfit with a scar on his abdomen. This could be explained as battle fatigue since the scar is most likely from a previous time. He was 22 yrs 6 months old with a rank of Driver, the Royal Artillery equivalent of private when he was demobbed. A driver drove the horse drawn guns that provided artillery cover at the front and on coastal defences. His address was listed as 37 Manly St, Lower Ince, Wigan. The war ended on Nov 11, 1918. William served 3 years and 10 months almost all of the war.

William courted Lillian Cowley on his return from the army and stories were told of their romantic strolls along the canal bank in Wigan. Lillian lived close to the canal with her parents David and Elizabeth Cowley.

William married Lillian Cowley in Wigan on 1st February 1919, on his marriage certificate his occupation is listed as “driller in coal mine” and his address is 182 Ince Green Lane, Higher Ince, Wigan. William and Lillian had two children born in Wigan, Oswald born 20 May 1919 and William born was born in 1920. There third child, Fred was born in Yorkshire.

The family moved to Kingsley for work in the coal mine after Williams birth. They lived in housing provided by the coal mine owners. The family story is that the famous Ernie Wise ,the entertainer, as a child used to clog dance on their doorstep. He was rewarded for his efforts with a piece of Lillian’s cake.

He worked in the coalmine in Kingsley as an engine driver .

His granddaughter provided this account of his death in 1957 while on holiday in Knaresborough. ” I can still see the vision, the day grandad fell desperately ill in front of my very eyes. We were in the water splashing around and there he was, closely watching and laughing at our antics. Comfortingly, that would certainly have been his last memory, a sunny day , surrounded by family. From there he fell into a coma and never regained consciousness.