Joseph Harbottle Halliday of Broughton Road, South Shields was one of three brothers who sadly lost their lives serving during the Second World War. Joseph served with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. It is believed that he was captured by the Japanese forces in Java and taken as a Prisoner of War.

It would appear that Joseph was on board the ill-fated Suez Maru, a Japanese transport ship which was carrying hundreds of POWs, when it was mistakenly torpedoed by a US submarine on 29 November 1943. Many of the POWs drowned inside the ship, those who escaped were fired upon by Japanese troops and killed.

Two of Joseph’s brothers, who served on the same boat as each other in the Merchant Navy, lost their lives just months later aboard SS Radhurst when it was hit by a torpedo in the north Atlantic on 21 February 1943.

William Halliday, aged 29, was the eldest brother and had been in the Merchant Navy for 12 years. Albert, who was 18, was making his second trip when the ship was lost. At the time of the sinking, Mr and Mrs Halliday were told that William and Albert were missing at sea.

It was February 1944 when they were told the boys were presumed lost at sea. Joseph is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial with over 24 000 other casualties of the Commonwealth Land and Air Forces who have no known grave. William and Albert are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial with over 36 000 other casualties of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets who died in both World Wars and who have no known grave.