Thanks Chempat - good to know that it seems possible - it's just that the skill set seems quite different - however as you say, it is not out of the question.
Raybistre - I'd forgotten the directories, will do a thorough check in the cold light of day and let you know how it goes. Also appreciate the link, great background.
Amondg, thanks so much for checking the GRO index, didn't know about Elizabeth. The family does seem to be the same. The children I mentioned are there, mother Halliday. The other two, Thomas and Ellen I checked on the Lancashire parish Clerk site:
Baptism: 27 Jan 1867 St John the Evangelist, Farnworth with Kearsley, Lancashire, England
Thomas Waddington - Son of John Waddington & Ellen
Abode: Kearsley
Occupation: Spinner
Baptised by: W. H. Taylor
Register: Baptisms 1864 - 1873, Page 84, Entry 665
Source: LDS Film 1538438
Baptism: 10 Oct 1868 St John the Evangelist, Farnworth with Kearsley, Lancashire, England
Ellen Waddington - [Child] of John Waddington & Ellen
Abode: Farnworth
Occupation: Spinner
Baptised by: Robt. Daunt
Register: Baptisms 1864 - 1873, Page 130, Entry 1039
Source: LDS Film 1538438
Again, he is listed as a 'Spinner' so that would seem to suggest that sometime between 1868 and 1871, John became a Watchmaker.
Thanks for your help - really appreciated.
Jane