Arthur H E Halliday 1897 – 1918 Arthur Henry Edward Halliday was born in the year 1897. His mother is Rebecca Holgate and his father is registered as Robert Halliday. However there is no record of a marriage between his parents or any other information other than his name on the birth certificate and occupation given as a coal mine engineer. It was possible that he was in London working on the Blackwell tunnel that was being built at that time. Arthur only has one sibling, a younger sister Florence Janet Halliday born 1899. The 1901 census shows Arthur age 3 living in Sawbridgeworth with his sister Florence age 1 and their mother Rebecca age 27, staying with her sister Harriet age 35 and her husband Charles Dyer age 35 who owned his own butchers shop along with their children – Horace 18, Beatrice 11, Harriet 11, Jessie 10, Charles 8, John 7, May 5, William 3, Lillian 1. The 1911 census shows Robert 14 and Florence 11 living in Sawbridgeworth with their mother Rebecca 37 and step dad Albert 39 a tailor, with half siblings Lionel 16 and Percy 15 working as butcher boys, Stanley 14, Sidney 13, Doris 11, Ivy 8, Albert 5, John 3, Flora 1, and George under 6 months of age. With the start of WW1 Arthur joined the military. His army records didn’t survive the London bombings other than a medal index card that lists the Victory and British Medal. He was killed in action on Christmas Eve of 1918 age 21, as part of the Commonwealth War Dead and buried in Kantara War Memorial cemetery, Egypt. Arthur had been a private in the Hertfordshire Yeomanry Regiment. Service No: 105571. In the early part of the First World War, Kantara was an important point in the defence of Suez against Turkish attacks. His service to his Country was honoured by his name being placed on the Sawbridgeworth War Memorial in Hertfordshire under the name A E Holgate. His two half brothers are also named – Stanley John Archer and Sidney Gordon Archer.

Karen Nunn Nee Archer