Arthur was the son of the Reverend Hedley and Margaret Haslam, of Beadnell Vicarage, Chathill, Northumberland. Arthur's father, Hedley, was a schoolmaster and clerk in Holy Brider. The 1911 census puts the Haslams at 24 Lansdowne Gardens, Jesmond. In March of 1918 Arthur married Leslie Cail. According to the National Probate Calendar his last known address was 22 Haldane-Terrace, Newcastle Upon Tyne.
He was educated at Jesmond Royal Grammar School, where he was captain of both the cricket and football teams and on leaving was awarded the Collingwood prize. According to tributes paid to him at the time of his death by his old School, he was known to his friends there by the nickname "Kiddy" and admired for his quiet reserve and plucky nature. When war was declared he was holding a science scholarship at Armstrong College (1911 - 1914).
Arthur was gazetted Second Lieutenant in the Northumberland Fusiliers, 8th Battalion on 15th September 1914, and a week later transferred to the 9th Battalion. He gained his Lieutenancy on 1st June 1915 and went to France with his Battalion in July 1915. He was wounded in February 1916 while fighting in the International Trench at "The Bluff", Zillebeke, West Flanders. After being treated in hospital at Boulogne, he was invalided home, but returned overseas in September 1918. Arthur was severely wounded in action in October 1918 and died of those wounds on 2nd November 1918 aged 26.
Thank you to Royal Jesmond Grammar School who have provided the text of of the following tribute to Arthur, from an 'old boy':
" 'Kiddy '—we shall always remember him by that name. At its every mention we recall the little interesting scenes of our school-boy life. It was chiefly upon the playing fields that we knew him and watched the development of his manhood. There he was an example of self-forgetfulness, and we never knew him hesitate to sacrifice, that we might gain. Not of strong physique, he possessed something greater which we call ' pluck.' But the secret of the nature which made us love ' Kiddy,' and which made him the confidant of many a schoolboy secret, was his quiet reserve. We can fully believe from our knowledge of him that in a critical time he would serve for duty and usefulness rather than ` showiness.' We accept the mystery of his call to a Higher Service in the knowledge that he would humbly make the great sacrifice with the highest sense of duty."