Born during a brief relocation in Edinburgh on 1st November 1936 to Walter (sergeant in the British Army) and Vincenzia Halliday. The youngest of 4 brothers. The family moved back to Floriana in Vincenzia’s home country of Malta when Dennis was still a baby, a country where he was surrounded by family and good friends and a place which he considered ‘home’ for the rest of his life.
 
Unfortunately his father died young and soon afterwards, at the age of 17, Dennis made the move to England to join 2 of his older brothers in the small town of Cirencester.
 
Dennis served his national service in the Army, based in Germany. While he never talked fondly of his time in the army, many a tale from friends told a different story. Besides, on leaving the army he promptly joined the TA, where he proudly served for 3 further years, although his attendance during the last  few months was rather sporadic as by that time he’d met the love of his life – Claire, a local Cirencester girl who, in her own words, saw Dennis as an Elvis Presley lookalike, with dance moves to match.
 
Dennis and Claire would later marry, here in St Peter’s church, surrounded by family and friends.
 
Around four years later the young couple were blessed with a daughter, Julina; followed by their son, James four years after that. Both providing sleepless nights and great pride, in equal measures.
 
The family had set up home in a small bungalow in South Cerney. A home which was improved, extended and redecorated many times over the years but a home that Dennis and Claire never felt the need to move on from.
 
Dennis held a number of jobs over the years. As children Julina and James have fond memories of visiting ’Halliday Brothers’, the greengrocer shop he ran with his brothers Fred and Walter; their mother never far away, making sure the shop was clean and tidy and keeping her sons in-line!
 
Naturally gifted, Dennis could turn his hands to almost anything, which was fortunate due to the never-ending list of DIY jobs that would keep him busy, including keeping the family’s steady flow of old bangers on the road, often well past their sell-by-date.
 
Holidays were a welcome distraction for Dennis. A favourite destination was Dorset where the family spent many summer holidays in a variety of tents and trailer tents before stepping up to the relative luxury of caravans - enjoying long days on the beach - whatever the weather! But it wasn’t just Dorset; Claire and Dennis made many trips, including visits to family in Canada and Malta and pilgrimages to Lourdes.
 
Unfortunately Claire was diagnosed with MS in her late forties. It was now that Dennis’s love and devotion to Claire came to the fore, becoming full-time carer, diligently tending her every need and devoting his life to her care, until she sadly passed away in September this year after 56 years of marriage. An event that, in his own words, felt like half of him had died, and the other half had been thrown from a cliff … It was days before the time of Claire’s passing that Dennis was diagnosed with the cancer that cruelly took his life just a few, all too short weeks later.
 
In spite of never having a moment for himself, Dennis always made time for his beloved grandchildren; Ted, Martha and Nell, who never failed to raise a smile, bringing so much happiness and joy during their regular ‘play-dates’.
 
So the brief history of Dennis Halliday comes to an end. Dennis lived a full and varied life with more stories than could fit in a book let alone a Eulogy … A private man, A proud man, A skilled man, A strong man, A loyal and protective family man. He was inspiration to many over the years. Whether he was fixing cars, making trailers, playing football, laying patios, turfing gardens, water-skiing, canoeing, swimming, building walls, diving from balconies or caring tentatively for a loved one – Dennis was an inspiration to us all.
 
From James: As children we all put our parents on a pedestal and consider our dad to be a super-hero. Faster, stronger, cleverer than anyone else’s dad, and that was certainly the case for me. The only difference being that the belief never went away over time, it only grew stronger.
 
Dennis Halliday - Sadly missed, never to be forgotten.