Arthur Harry Wolseley Beatty

Arthur Beatty was born at St James' Park, London in 1888 and was the son of Dr Joseph Beatty and Isabella Beatty. By 1911 he was living with his family in Harrow-on-the-Hill and working as an insurance agent. He was also active in the sporting and social life of the local community.

Civilian Life - Arthur's school days at John Lyon School formed part of his early life in Harrow, and his name is recorded on the school's First World War memorials. Beyond school, he took part in a range of sporting activities. He competed at local athletic meetings as a sprinter and hurdler, and contemporary reports described him as a successful jumper and an accomplished athlete.

Arthur wrote poetry. In December 1907, the Harrow Observer published one of his poems:

MY FIRST HOCKEY MATCH

By Arthur H W Beatty

That evil hour shall I forget,

Shall I forget that wretched day,

When I agreed, in a moment weak,

In a hockey game to play.

I strapped my skates and seized my stick,

And struck forth on the ice;

And my impressions of the game

Were anything but nice.

They said I was to cover point,

But with points they covered me.

Points of sticks, and ends of skates

Prodded my anatomy.

I came off the ice with a broken arm,

And both my legs were lame,

And they carried me home on the waiting-room door,

The night of the hockey game.

In June 1909, he competed in the Harrow District Marathon Association Sports Day and finished third in the sack race! Arthur also took part in amateur dramatics. At a social held at St George's, Headstone, in March 1911, he appeared in a dramatic reading of Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. He played three parts — the Landlord, Diggory and Sir Charles Marlow — and the newspaper recorded "Mr. Arthur Beatty, ... trebled the parts of the Landlord, Diggory and Sir Charles Marlow, kept the audience highly amused, especially in his interpretation of the last-named character."

Military Life - After the outbreak of the First World War, Arthur joined the Civil Service Rifles. He served in Flanders and took part in fighting, including the Battle of Loos. During his service he was promoted to the position of bomber. In early 1916, newspaper reports stated that he had been sent to hospital in Bristol after suffering from illnesses associated with his work and exposure in the trenches. He subsequently returned to military service and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Manchester Regiment, 19th Battalion. He was killed on 31 July 1917, aged 29, during the fighting in Flanders. His name is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial in Belgium.

Arthur Beatty's recorded life encompasses his education and activities in Harrow, his work as an insurance agent, his poetry and amateur acting, and his considerable involvement in athletics, followed by his military service in Flanders during the First World War. He died on 31 July 1917, aged 29, while serving as a Second Lieutenant in the Manchester Regiment.