Arthur Weatherhead was born at Heaton, Bradford in 1896, one of eight children born to John and Sarah Ann Weatherhead. In 1901, he was living at Burn Bridge with his grandfather (Benjamin Weatherhead), his parents, and siblings James, Nellie, Allan, Maurice and Annie. Still living with his parents at Burn Bridge in 1911, he was then working as a messenger at Harrogate Post Office but would later be employed by a local electrical engineer, Thomas Wray.
Arthur voluntarily enlisted into the 1/5th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment on 31st August or 1st September 1914, possibly alongside Ernest Burnley and Frank Clarkson, and went to France with the battalion, disembarking at Boulogne on 15th April 1915. He was invalided home with sickness in October, but returned to France and the 1/5th West Yorkshires. The battalion attacked at Thiepval on the opening day of the 1916 Battle of the Somme, and again on 28th September. The war diary of the battalion relates the story of the September attack:
The battalion was ordered to be formed up ready for the attack [on the SCHWABEN REDOUBT] by 6.30am. This was done in the dark, and every man was in his place in what cover was available by 6.27am and judging from the entire absence of enemy fire, the battalion got into position without their knowledge. They lay there practically undisturbed until zero hour at 1pm.
At zero hour the attack developed in accordance with the scheme, the four companies following the last wave [of the 7th Bedfordshire Regiment] in line of sections at 150 yards distance in the following order - A C D and B. B Company lay down when they reached the line of the CHATEAU in order to remain there in reserve.
A large proportion of the men were diverted towards the left flank of the attack, for there the trenches and the German strength lay, whereas on the right it was an advance over the open. On the left there was much confused fighting in the German front and second line trenches and the communications between them. The battalion became immediately involved in this hand-to-hand scrapping and dug-out clearing, and almost at once the three supporting companies became a part of the main advance. In fact the co-operation between the leading battalion and the support battalion seems to have been excellent.
The battalion (less those who remained to fight and clear up the actual trenches on the left) pushed up the hill over the open in their formation of line of sections in file, with the result that the final brigade objective was reached by a mixture of both units. Where the Bedfords were pushing forward in sufficient strength the West Yorks remained in close support behind, and where there were gaps in the advance the West Yorks pushed through into them.
When the final objective was reached the battalion had only two officers left, one of whom held a line in close support with West Yorks men from all three companies. A detachment from this party reinforced with bombers and Lewis guns the men fighting in the German front line towards the [River] ANCRE.
The consolidation of the captured line was taken in hand by two company commanders of the Bedfords, who took command of the line of mixed troops and acted with great energy and skill in adjusting the disposition of the captured line.
H.Q. were moved from THIEPVAL to the captured area at 4.30pm and on reaching the new line it was found that the right flank was thin and in the air, but the remaining front appeared to be satisfactory except for some bombing encounters proceeding.
The difficulty of the right flank had been anticipated and the reserve company had already received orders to go up to the right flank with bombs and small arms ammunition. They proceeded over the open in diamond formation and achieved the object of strengthening the right flank, which later in the evening was connected with the brigade on the right.
The relief of the two battalions by the West Kents was effected before dawn, with the exception of sixty-two men and an officer of the West Yorks who were kept in the line. These men fought for thirty hours without food or water.
Arthur Weatherhead was reported as missing in action on 28th September 1916, and was later presumed to have been killed in action on that day. His body was eventually recovered from the battlefield, and now lies buried in Connaught Cemetery, Thiepval.