Arthur Wilde

Arthur Wilde was a fine art dealer based in London, having previously been a commercial salesman. He was a member of the committee of the Ham and Petersham Miniature Rifle Club and was himself a very good shot, winning both the Throne Cup and Walker Cup ,and was selected for the 1908 Olympics, taking part in three events with a sixth place being his best finish.

Having previously served in the Boer War with the Imperial Yeomanry, for which he was awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal, Wilde enlisted into the London Regiment (Queen Victoria’s Rifles) at the outbreak of World War I, and was sent to France in November 1914 before being commissioned into the Hampshire Regiment as a second lieutenant the following April. On 21 January 1916, following an attack by the enemy, Arthur Wilde and a private Chapman went missing never to be seen again. Despite a search party trying to find them, they were presumed to have been killed in action on the day of the attack.