Arthur was born on 20th February 1888 and baptised at Rettendon Parish Church on 11th August that year. His parents were Thomas and Mary Eves and by the time he was three years old he was living with his mother and father at Brook Farm, Woodham Ferrers where Thomas was employed as a farm bailiff. Thomas and Mary Ann Munson had married at All Saints Church, Rettendon in May 1873.
Unfortunately Thomas died in 1894 and was buried at St Mary’s Churchyard, Woodham Ferrers on 22nd October of that year aged just forty six. With four children and a grandson to support Mary would have needed to find employment to support the family and it may have been about this time that she started working as a midwife although no occupation was listed in the census. At this time there were no qualifications needed to practice. She does however appear on the register of midwives in 1910 with the qualification that she was already practising in July 1901. Her address was given as The Street, Woodham Ferrers. By 1911 Arthur was employed as a domestic gardener lodging in Woodham Road, Battlesbridge.
Arthur enlisted at Chelmsford as a volunteer in 1/5th Battalion Essex Regiment a territorial battalion. The 1/4th, 1/5th, 1/6th and 1/7th battalions, as part of 161st (Essex) Brigade, 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division, sailed from Devenport on 21st July 1915 bound for Gallipoli via Lemnos. They landed at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, on 10th August 1915 and were in action against Turkish troops on the 14th.
The battalion was withdrawn from Gallipoli in early December having lost 37 men through enemy action and disease. They were then involved in the defence of Egypt and the Suez Canal before commencing an advance into Palestine in February 1917. They were involved in the 1st Battle of Gaza 27th - 28th March, 2nd Battle of Gaza, 17th - 19th April both of which were unsuccessful with the Turkish Army exacting heavy losses. The battalion was again in action in the 3rd Battle of Gaza going into action at 2.55 am on 2nd November resulting in the fall of Gaza on 7th November by which time Arthur together with 82 officers and men had been killed or were missing. Arthur was believed to have sustained a severe head wound from a bullet from which he died.
Arthur’s older brother Thomas was also killed in action on 9th April 1917 just seven months earlier which must have been a great blow to their mother having already lost her husband at a comparatively young age. She had two other sons serving Francis and Joshua and possibly her grandson Charles but thankfully they returned. She died in 1936 and was buried in St Mary’s Churchyard 3rd October that year.