Regiment: West Yorkshire Regt.
Died: 07 July 1917 aged 23 in Belgium. Killed in action at Messines.
Cemetery: Railway Dugouts Burial Ground
Born: October 25th 1894. Son of Col. E. A. P. Hobday, C.M.G. (Royal Artillery), and Mrs. N. Hobday (nee Pottinger), Glenshiel Inn, Victoria, B.C.
Modern III—Lower Modern I.
Architect's Assistant.
Great War, Private Canadian Infantry 1914; Captain West Yorkshire Regt.
11th Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own).
Architect in Victoria and Duncan, British Columbia where he also played cricket.
'He left School rather young, to go out to British Columbia, and the career which he had entered upon at School was interrupted just at the time when he was giving promise of prominence and usefulness. He had a special aptitude for games, and considerable intellectual power. After he had finished his education in British Columbia, he began work as an architect. He had much success in various forms of athletics, and was well known in the province. When war broke out he joined the first Canadian force that was raised, and came over to England in October 1914 with the first Canadian Contingent. When the new battalions of the West Yorkshire Regiment were formed, he was gazetted to one of these, and was thus one of the original officers, and he remained with this battalion till the time of his death. He saw much service in France, and gained rapid promotion. He was killed on June 7th 1917 when gallantly leading his men. His bravery and fine leadership had been conspicuous all the time that he was on active service. He was mentioned in despatches in Jan. 1917. The fine work he did in the action, in which he lost his life, was typical of his career as a man and a soldier.' (Malvernian, Jul 1917).
Wisden
Service record:WO 339/4691
Unit war diary:WO 95/2184/4