Second Lieutenant, Royal Field Artillery, attached Royal Flying Corps
Born: October 9th 1896
Died: September 11th 1917
Age at Death: 20
Killed in aerial combat, France, September 11th, 1917.
Son of Ernest A. Halliwell, Johannesburg, South Africa.
A donation to the memorial statue has been made in honour of this soldier by the Tiplady Family.
Obituary Brightonian XV December, 1917
E.J. Halliwell entered the School House in September, 1910. He won his 2nd XI. Cricket colours in 1912, 2nd XI. Football colours in 1912-13, and 1st VIII. Gym in 1913. We re-print by permission the following extract from The Times of November 17th - "Lieutenant Eric John Halliwell, R.F.A., attached R.F.C., was the elder son of Mr. E.A. Halliwell, the well-known South African and International wicket-keeper. He was born in South Africa but came to England at an early age, and was educated at Haw Bank, Cheadle, Cheshire, and Brighton College, where he took a keen part in all sports, and was a member of the Cadet Corps. He returned to South Africa in 1913, and at the outbreak of war was working on the mines of E.R.P.M. Company, controlled by the late Sir George Farrar. He was then under 18 years of age, and enlisted in the Transvaal Scottish, with whom he served through the whole campaign in German South-West Africa, obtained a non-commissioned rank, and was present at the final 'round-up' at Otavifontein in July, 1915. He then returned to England, arriving in September, 1915, obtaining a commission in the R.F.A. (Special Reserve of Officers), and proceeded to France, where he served in various sectors of the front, and was wounded at Calomne (Vimy Ridge) in March, 1916. He returned to the front in November, 1916 and for several months saw much fighting, latterly acting as Captain. He then transferred to the R.F.C. reverting to Second Lieutenant, and after a short training returned to the front as an 'observer' at the end of last July. In about a month he obtained his 'wings' and promotion to Lieutenant. On September the 11th, he was reported missing, the only news first being that he was flying a considerable distance beyond the enemy lines, and had encountered hostile machines, but a message subsequently dropped by German airmen over our lines, and later the returns for September published in the German Press, state that he and his pilot were killed. He was in his 21st year."
Eric John Halliwell
Eric Halliwell was born on October 9th 1896 in Transvaal, South Africa; then one of the independent Boer Republics. He was the elder son of Ernest Halliwell, a noted cricketer famed for lining his wicket-keeping gloves with raw steak, and his wife Rosena (nee Richer).
After leaving the school Halliwell was received a commission in the 57th Brigade Royal Field Artillery. However, he was later attached to the RFC as an observer. He was killed in action on 11th September 1917 whilst acting as a flying observer behind enemy lines during the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele).
His grave is in the Moorseele Military Cemetery, Wevelgem, Belgium.
Source: LEST WE FORGET PROJECT, Brighton College 2014/15
To mark Remembrance in 2023, a Brighton College family visited the Moorseele Military Cemetery, and found Etic’s grave.