[1][2][5] Thomas Edwin Holliday, born 13 July 1898 in Wigton,[6] the youngest of four brothers, two of which died in the Great War, came from a long line of Cumberland sporting personalities.

In 1924, he went on the British Lions' tour to South Africa but suffered a broken collar bone in the opening game and took no further part in the series.

In 1924, he captained Cumberland when they won the County Championship, for the first and only time in their history, defeating Kent by six points to three in the final at Carlisle.

He continued to captain the county side until 1926, when he accepted one of many offers to play Rugby league, signing professional forms for Oldham.

[8] The eldest brother Jonathon (Jont) was a highly respected three-quarter back, won the first of his 32 county caps at the age of seventeen.

On 18 November 1916, two individual telegrams arrived at the family home, regarding the disappearance of both Jont and his younger brother Alex, reports later substantiated.

Primarily he is a full-back, but for his club and for his country he has frequently played with success in the centre (sic "only as a fullback for England"), and his sense of position has always stood him in good stead.