William Stanley Booth was baptised at St. Peter’s church in Warrington on 28th March 1900. His father, a solicitor’s clerk, was called Robert Percy, and his mother’s name was Margaret.
By 1901, the family had come to live in Daresbury, with Alfred and Sarah, William’s grandparents. Alfred Booth was a retired police sergeant, who had been stationed at Stockton Heath.
In the 1911 census, Robert’s occupation is recorded as an insurance agent, and Margaret is working too, as a teacher. As a boy, William attended Daresbury School, and was a chorister in the church. At the age of 13, he began learning how to ring the bells. He would eventually become Tower Master, a position he held for some 14 years.
During the First World War, from August 1918 until February 1919, he served with the R.N.V.R. in the Mersey division, service number Z/5892. His occupation was given as electrician when he enlisted, and he is described as five feet four inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes.
In 1939 he was unmarried and living in The Square, Daresbury with his widowed mother, Margaret. His occupation was recorded as a general electrician and wireman. Later, he worked as outside manager for W. A. Boulting Ltd. of Crown Street, Warrington.
In 1949 he married Amy Grounds, and his bell ringing colleagues rang a peal of Kent Bob Major, as a tribute.
William Stanley Booth died in 1957 at his home in Daresbury, and is buried in the churchyard. An obituary in the local paper tells us that he enjoyed motoring, gardening, and building radio and television sets.