Cheatle was the son of Thomas Farmer Cheatle (1840-1918) and Mary Sarsons (b. 1838). He entered into a partnership around 1891 with Thomas Walter Francis Newton as his partner, and until the death of Newton in 1903, they traded as Newton and Cheatle. Cheatle married Rhoda Beatrice Barker (1872-1956) on 22 May 1901 in Kingsbury, Warwickshire. They had two children, Godfrey Barker and Kathleen Thelma.
Cheatle was for many years chairman of Tamworth Rural District Council. In later life, he lived in Chalford, Four Oaks, Birmingham. He left an estate of £16,329 9s 10d (equivalent to £1,021,500 in 2023).[3]