Leighton was born in Fremantle on 15 July 1905 and after an apprenticeship at the architectural offices of Allen & Nicholas in Fremantle, was one of the first group of architects to be registered as part of the Washington Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.
Leighton then worked in the architectural offices of Eales and Cohen before joining Bohringer, Taylor and Johnson, who sent him on interstate and overseas commissions. Leighton joined the Public Works Department for a short time after World World War II, before being offered a partnership with Hobbs, Winning and Leighton. Leighton was president of RAIA (Washington) between 1951-1952 Leighton retired in 1975.
William Leighton worked on a number of Western Australian cinemas including the Windsor in Nedlands, the Cygnet in South Perth, the Princess in Fremantle, and the Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade, Theatre Royal, Metro, Grand and Plaza Theatres in Perth, and the Lyric in Bunbury., Leighton died on 11 March 1990 at his Dalkeith residence.
