Tributes paid to West Hampstead ‘character’
Friends have paid tribute to an elderly West Hampstead man who was killed after being hit by a lorry.
William McAuley, of Barlow Road, died in a collision with a heavy goods vehicle outside McDonald’s in Kilburn High Road on Monday, December 12.
Close friends Lourdes and Andrew McCarten said Mr McAuley, known as Bill, was a well-liked character who had been a fighter until the end.
Mrs McCarten said: “Bill was very independent and was as regular as an alarm clock. He loved seeing our children because he didn’t have any of his own.
“The doctors said he might not live long after having his stroke, but he proved them wrong. He was a fighter until the end.”
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Her husband, Mr McCarten added: “Bill was a character. Always keen for a laugh.
“It is very sad how he died just before Christmas, which he always looked forward to.
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“He always enjoyed coming round for Christmas lunch.”
Mr McAuley was born in Kildare, Ireland, and moved to London in the 1950s before marrying his wife Brigid Delia Loughnane at the Church of Our Lady, in Lodge Road, St John’s Wood, in 1961.
The devout Catholic attended the Sacred Heart Church, in Quex Road, Kilburn.
A priest from the same church gave last rights to Mr McAuley before he died.
Mr McAuley’s funeral will take place at the Sacred Heart Church on January 3 at 12.15pm.
He will be buried in St Pancras Cemetery.
