William was Calum's, Jamie's and Pippa's five times great grandfather.

William was a military man for his whole life, serving with the Royal Regiment, aka the Royal Scots or 1st Regiment of Foot. It is known he was born in County Fermanagh in 1797, but his parents' names have not yet been determined. In May 2020 a DNA connection was flagged up with Scottish based genealogist Chris Halliday on FamilyTreeDNA, with halliday being the only common surname. This link suggested 47cm of shared DNA, with half of that located in two chunks on chromosomes 5 and 6, at 16.89cM and 6.17cM. Chris has confirmed his ancestors in the late 18th century were based in Dumfriesshire, suggesting an earlier ancestral origin for William's line in this Scottish county.  

From the record of his death in 1831 (see later), we know that William Alexander Halliday enlisted with the regiment on December 3rd 1819. William is noted many years earlier in folio WO25/309 at the National Archives as having been born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1797, where he had previously worked as a servant before joining the British Army. He attested for the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of Foot at the age of 22 in December 1819, at Dublin City, at the headquarters of the regiment, and a description of him is given in the register - he was 5 feet and 10 inches in height, had a pale complexion, and hazel eyes and black hair. He signed up for life, and the register notes that he transferred to the 2nd Battalion on March 30th 1820. 

Following his transfer, William did not actually join the 2nd Battalion of his regiment until September or October 1820. On arrival at Trichinopoly (Tamul Nadu, India, today known as Tiruchirappalli or Trichy) he was immediately posted to serve as a Private in Captain Robert Dudgeon's Company. The regimental muster rolls from September - November 1820, held at the National Archives at Kew, show he had 'transferred from Europe', and that he then remained in this company, which was referred to as the General Company, until being transferred to the 1st company, under the command of Captain C. S. Hoskins (WO12/1959). He remained in turn with this company in Trichinopoly until June 1825, with the only notable record being that he was sick and unavailable for the muster from August 25th - September 24th 1821. In August 1821 the regiment was officially granted the title The First, or the Royal, Regiment of Foot, by King George IV, as opposed to its former title of the First, or Royal Scots, Regiment of Foot.

According to the book The First, or Royal Regiment of Foot by Richard J. Cannon (source: Google Books), the 2nd Battalion stayed at Trichonopoly until June 1824, from which it then marched to Madras, staying there until September. From p.236:

In the mean time, hostilities had commenced between the British and the Burmese empire; and in September the battalion embarked from Madras and sailed for Calcutta, where it arrived on the 10th of October. Towards the end of the year it marched to Barrackpore for the purpose of suppressing a mutiny amongst the Company's native troops at that place; and after the performance of this painful duty it returned to Calcutta.

Following this the battalion marched to Rangoon in Burma on January 15th 1825 to reinforce Brigadier General Archibald Campbell's men against the Burmese Army. When it arrived the British Army was already pushing further up the Irawaddy River to take the city of Prome, and the 2nd battalion acted as reserve. They then pushed through Mophi, Thaboon and Sarrawah (reached on March 2nd), and then the fort at Donabew, fending off many Burmese attacks along the way (including one mounted on 17 elephants). Only one private was killed in the whole advance to capture Donabew.

In the record from July 25th - August 24th 1825, William is now noted as a private at Chingleput, today known as Chengelpattu or Chengelpat in Tamil Nadu. In the roll from August 24th he was "on duty", and in the following month from September 25th he was noted as "sick at Madras", a condition which continued until April 25th 1826. He therefore appears to have missed much of the action fighting against the Burmese from November 16th following the breakdown of a peace treaty which the Burmese had found unacceptable. It is not known what the illness was that William suffered from, but with the heavy rains many soldiers suffered from cholera. The Anglo-Burmese war was briefly paused after the Burmese agreed to a treaty, but as this was not ratified before January 19th 1826 hostilities soon recommenced. The Burmese soon surrendered when the Royals were just four days march away from the capital. 

During this period William's pay increased, with the muster roll from February 25th stating he was "Entitled to higher pay of one penny Indian from 25th September 1824", implying he must have first joined the army in 1817. Whilst he was ill the company moved from Chingleput to Fortwilliam, and then to Lorreangong (?).  

From April 25th - June 24th 1826 the company was stated to be in Prome, now known as Pyay, with William himself stated to be under "command" at Rangoon (now Yangon), with both places in Burma. The following month though William was again stated to be "sick in Madras", and from August 25th - September 24th 1825 he was again "sick at Rangoon", a state of health he suffered from there up to January 24th 1826, in a muster roll recorded at Patanagola. From the end of January to March 24th 1826 William was then "sick at Madras" (WO12/1962). The captaincy of the company was vacant in April, but was soon taken over by Captain Alexander MacDougall until the end of July, when Captain John Cross assumed command. 

From the end of September 1826 the company was stated to be in Bangalore, now Bengaluru, capital of Karnataka. In the next couple of months William met his future wife, Martha Taylor, whom he married in November. The record has been sourced at the British Library (with thanks to Emma Jolly):

Bangalore 8th Novr 1826 William Halliday of Bangalore Actg Corporal [...] 2nd Bn. Royal Regt. Bachelor and Martha Taylor of the same place widow were married in this Church by Banns this day by me

 

(Signed) W. Malkin Chaplain

 

This marriage was solemnized between us

Wm Halliday

Martha Taylor (her mark)

 

In the presence of us

 

J. Ruelton

E. Hodgson

A month after his marriage, William's company was taken over by Captain J. T. Fletcher, and continued to be based in Bangalore. In June 1827 command was assumed by Captain Richard Bennett. 

On July 19th 1827 William and Martha had their first child, a daughter called Eliza. She was baptised a couple of weeks later on August 1st, and in this record William is noted as a Corporal. In fact William is not noted as such until the muster roll from August 25th 1827, where he was described as one of six holding the rank. He continued in Bangalore as a Corporal until May 15th 1828, at which point he was demoted, with no reason given in the rolls. 

For the roll dated for November 1828, a note is given stating that William is now entitled to a higher daily rate of 2d due to 14 years service - if so, this would mean he attested in 1814. His higher pay rate kicked in from March 29th. In the following month William joined Captain Edward Lane's company. On October 25th 1829, William and Martha had a son, Alexander, born in Bangalore, Madras. 

From Cannon's book we then learn that

The 2nd Battalion remained at Bangalore until July 1830, when it was ordered to Arnee, as a preparatory measure previous to its embarkation for Europe.

From April 1st 1830 William is found as a private in Captain H. C. Fraser's company, based at Bangalore. From June 1st 1830 he is noted as "doing duty at Poonamallie", a situation which continued up to the end of the year. From January 1831 William is next found as a Private at St. Thomas Moual, in H. C. Fraser's company. In this year he again appears to have seen lots of service action, being noted from April to October as at "command at Madras". 

Private William Halliday sadly died whilst sailing back from India towards Scotland on November 6th 1831. The value of his effects after necessary deductions for debts etc to the company was £4 7s 11d, paid to his widow Martha (Source: TNA WO12/1967).

It is not known as yet what became of Martha.

From June-July 1860, Alexander spent 12 days in hospital. In the final quarter of the year the battalion moved to Corfu. The next major entry for Alexander notes that he had spent May 4th - 6th 1861 in confinement, and had been demoted to the rank of private, reason unknown, though it was recorded as a "military offence". His surname in the records is invariably spelt Halliday and Holliday. For his confinement he was charged 1s 6d for 3 days subsistence, but Alexander was subsequently granted good conduct pay instantly from his release on May 7th, perhaps indicating that his demotion had been unfortunate and recognised as such by his superiors.

Between October and December 1861 Private Alexander Holliday, as he was recorded, spent four days in hospital on Corfu (WO12/2088). between April and June 1862 he recieved 36 days good conduct pay at 2d per diem, and a further 55 days good conduct pay at 3d per diem, the payments having commenced on May 7th. 

The Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle of June 7th 1862 records that plans were afoot for the 6th regiment at Gibraltar to exchange places with the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd regiment at Corfu ("The Mediterranean Fleet"). Three weeks later, Alexander was definitely still on Corfu however, as he was recorded as having married Teresa Mooney there on June 27th 1862. In the record he was described as a Corporal in the battalion. The wedding was carried out at the Garrison Church, in a Church of England ceremony performed by the regimental chaplain Sydney Cluck M.A., and was witnessed by James Crabtree and Catherine Elizabeth Johnston. The record also notes both of his parents as William Alexander and Martha Ann Halliday (GRO Ionian Civil Registration Marriages 1818-1864, Corfu Vol 9 p.6 - no year listed in index, but the record itself notes it as 1862). 

Alexander was in fact still a private though, as noted on the Muster roll for July-September 1862, though it is possible he was 'acting up' in the role. The same return tells us that he spent 9 days on ship to Gibraltar, and a further 9 days in hospital in the period (WO12/2089). It is not known if Teresa accompanied him on the same voyage, but if not, she certainly did make her way to Gibraltar shortly after. On November 9th 1862, Alexander was promoted to Corporal. In the same quarter he again spent 6 days hospitalised, and a further 7 days between April and June 1863.

The regimental history by Haswell notes that the battalion was in Gibraltar and the West Indies between 1862 and 1865. In the Daily News of 14 JAN 1863, it is recorded that the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the 2nd battalion in Gibraltar donated £52 to a relief fund known as the Mansion House Committee, though it is not known for what purpose the fund existed ("The Mansion House Committee").  

On September 7th 1863, Alexander's daughter Florence was born in Gibraltar, Calum's and Jamie's great great great grandmother (see below). In the birth record, Alexander was again recorded as a Corporal. In the muster roll from October to December, it would appear that Alexander was in fact stationed at the hospital, as he is noted there as absent from the record in the first two musters, though on this occasion he was on duty there, and not ill (WO12/2090).

Following their posting at Gibraltar, the 2nd Battalion was sent out to Bermuda in the West Indies. Haswell's history states on p.105 that "In June 1864 the 2nd Battalion went out to Bermuda", confirmed also by the service digest which states the following:

Orders were received during the month of June 1864 for the Battalion to be held in readiness to relieve the 39th Regiment stationed in Bermuda and on the last day of that month the Battalion embarked on board HMS “Orontes” and sailed the same day.  The “Orontes” arrived at Bermuda on 15th July and the disembarkation took place the day following.  The Headquarters consisting of the Band and nos 1,2, and 5 companies  proceeded to St George’s, and the remaining portion of the Battalion to Boaz Island.

The muster rolls confirm that they sailed on the last day of June, the whole voyage lasting some 17 days (WO12/2091). Then all Hell broke loose:

Shortly after arrival an Epidemic of Yellow Fever broke out in Saint George’s which spread through the Islands and raged with great severity during the months of August, September and October. On 1st August the Headqurters were removed to Ferry Point and were there encamped. On 9th and 24th September detachments making a total of 9 officers and 252 men were conveyed by HMS "Galatea" to Halifax and returned thence in January 1865. The mortality of the battalion from this scourge was as numerated in the margin.

As noted, whilst the regiment was there, a major epidemic of yellow fever broke out, claiming many lives within the battalion. The following is the Pall Mall Gazette's description of what happened next: 

But what happened to Alexander? The muster rolls show that he was in fact based on Bermuda throughout the epidemic. The strain of the proceedings clearly also affected him, as not only was he hospitalised in the first quarter of 1865, he was also placed in confinement on 26th and 27th February, and thereby missed the monthly muster. He lost 56 days good conduct pay at 2d per diem, from February 1st-26th, and was demoted once more to Private (WO12/2091). The disciplinary issues continued, as in the subsequent quarter he recived 59 days good conduct pay at 1d per diem, and 32 dyas good conduct pay at 2d per diem, but was again deducted 3 days of this from May 1st-3rd. For the rest of the year's records Alexander is noted as being away from the muster in both September and October. sadly it appears that he may have bene permanently hospitalised at this point, and so it may be that he did in fact succumb to yellow fever, but at a later stage than the main epidemic. From January 1st - 31st 1866, he was awarded 31 days good conduct pay at 1d per diem. This appears to have been an act of generosity on behalf of the military authorities, as Alexander's time in the battalion was finally to come to an end.

The regimental muster roll for Bermuda in Feb/Mar 1866 (WO 12/2093) states that Private Alexander Halliday died there on 31st January 1866. There is no indication as to whether Alexander was killed by yellow fever. A list of those from the regiment killed by yellow fever is held by the West Surrey Archive, and has been checked. His name is not on it, and so the cause of death for the moment remains a mystery. The final entry gives us a lot of information on Alexander's enlistment. He was said to have joined with the Queen's on August 27th 1859, and his place of birth was noted as the East Indies. His previous trade when enlisted is noted as 'none', confrming that he must have signed up as a boy. After all debts were paid off, his widow Teresa was given just 8 1/2d.

There was one final happy event on Bermuda however. On August 29th 1866 his widow Teresa gave birth to their son, initially christened William, but later found in the 1891 census at Aldershot  and in other records as Alexander William.  

The 2nd Battalion came home in the following year, 1865 (sic), and served in Ireland and returned to Aldershot in 1869. In 1877, after another tour in Ireland, it moved to Malta and thence, in 1878, to India (p.106).

Florence Halliday

b: 7/9/1863  d: 18/9/1911

 

Florence was Calum's and Jamie's great great grandmother - see below.

 

 

 

Alexander William Halliday

b: 16/8/1866  d: 1/6/1947

 

Alexander was born on August 16th 1866 on the island of Bermuda in the West Indies, and baptised by the Reverend J. Bullock, Chaplain to the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of Foot. His father was recorded as Corporal William Halliday, and his mother Teresa. In his birth certificate, he is simply listed as William, but in all subsequent records within which he is found, he is noted as Alexander William (GRO Regimental Birth Indices 1761-1924, 1866 2nd regt. Vol. 996 p.15).

 

Alexander's early years remain something of a mystery just now. His father, a member of the 2nd battalion of the 2nd Regiment of Foot, passed away on Bermuda in January 1866, seven months before he was born. It seems that his mother returned to Ireland shortly after his birth and remarried to another corporal within the same battalion of the regiment, William John Burns, in a ceremony in Nenagh, Tipperary. After this the family seems to have moved to Dublin by 1871, and then briefly to Belfast by 1873-1874, before a return to Dublin.  

 

The next actual record we have naming Alexander is in 1878. Aged just eleven years and eleven months Alexander William Halliday was admitted to the Royal Hibernian Military School in Dublin on August 1st 1878. The enrolment record is held at the National Archives (TNA: WO 143/22) and states his date of birth as August 16th 1866, his height as 4 foot 4 inches, his weight as 4 stone 8 pounds, his chest as 24.5 inches, and his religion as Established Church (Church of Ireland). By the time he left he had gained one mark for good conduct, and no trade had been learned by him.

 

Aged just 13 years and 11 months, Alexander then officially joined the 48th Brigade on August 17th 1880, with his attestation witnessed by Staff Sergant Michael Hogan. His medical just a few days earlier in Dublin on the 13th provides another description of him again at this age. He was apparently aged 14, was four feet and 9 1/4 inches tall, had a chest measurement of 27 inches, a fresh complexion, blue grey eyes, brown hair and was Church of England by way of religion. He had a scar on the back of his neck and one on the back of his right hand.

 

On his Military History Sheet, his next of kin are reported as Father William (actually his step-father), Mother Trease (i.e. Teresa), and sisters Florence and Sarah (Sarah was a daughter of William and Theresa, born in Dublin in 1871). 

 

By the 1881 census, a few months later, we learn that Alexander was in Aldershot, England, and noted as a 14 year old private in the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of Foot, the Queen's Royals. The entry lists him as having been born in Bermuda, and as unmarried.

 

From 1879 to 1891 the 1st Battalion was based in both England and Ireland, and we therefore find him yet again in the Aldershot barracks ten years later, this time as a 23 year old Lance Corporal in the battalion, and still unmarried. In this record, his birthplace is recorded as the West Indies, and his regiment as The Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment. This tallies with his Military Service record which shows that he was based from August 13th 1880 to April 8th 1892 at home, a service period of some 11 years and 239 days.  The record also noted that he passed a certificate of education on September 28th 1882 (3rd class).

 

From April 9th 1892 to January 16th 1895, Alexander is noted as having served on the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean, a service period of two years and 283 days. During this spell he gained a 2nd class certificate of education on November 5th 1892, and was promoted to the rank of sergeant on June 5th 1894. 

 

From January 17th 1895 to November 27th 1902, things became a little more heated. In this period, Alexander saw military combat on at least three instances. He served at Tirah in 1897 and 1897, and in the north west frontier of India. He was awarded the India Medal 1895 with clasp for Tirah 1897-98 and another for service at the Punjab frontier in 1897-98.

 

Alexander remained with the 1st Battalion until his eventual discharge on December 16th 1902. His character upon discharge was noted as "exemplary" on the Military History sheet, and he had received five good conduct badges. By now he was noted as being aged 36 years and 2 months old, and some 5 feet 6 inches tall. His intended place of residence was 52 Benburb Street, Dublin. Under the question "Special qualifications for civilian life", Alexander was noted as being a gymnastic instructor for eleven years, with a further note saying he was "an excellent man in every way". He was discharged at Gosport after 22 years and 126 days service.

 

On 5 JUN 1908 Alexander, noted as a motorman of full age from 1 Eccles Street, and son of Alexander Halliday, married house maid Margaret Hughes, daughter of Michael Hughes, gardener, and of 5 Pembroke Road. The wedding took place at the Roman Catholic Church of Haddington Road, by Father Henry Lube, with the witnesses noted as John Downes and Annie Jordan (Source: GROI M 1908 Group Reg ID 2088854 Dublin South).

 

By the time of the 1911 census, Alexander was recorded as resident at 3 Synnott Row, in the Parliamentary division of College Green, in the Inns Quay Ward. He was again noted as a motorman, and as a pensioner from the 'infantry of the line'. His birthplace was noted as Bermuda, West Indies, and living with him in the house was his 39 year old wife Margaret (Hughes), from County Dublin, and his 75 year old mother, now noted as Teresa Burns, implying that she had remarried. The census entry also interestingly notes that Alexander had converted to Roman Catholicism, the original religion of his mother.

Thomas Graham

b: 1883

 

 

 

Edward Graham

b: 1885

 

 

 

John Graham

b: 1887

 

 

 

William Graham

b: 1889

 

 

 

Ernest Graham

b: 1893  d: 23/8/1942

 

Calum's and Jamie's great great grandfather - see Graham (1) page.

 

 

 

Florence Graham

b: 1894   d: 3/1/1905

 

 

 

Robert Graham

b: 189?

 

 

 

Gerald Graham

b: 11/3/1895

 

 

 

Harold Graham

b: 1903

 

 

 

Matilda Graham - unconfirmed

b: 18??