James HALLIDAY

Jim Halliday became a leading weightlifter after twice overcoming adversity. As a child, he was told he would never be able to take part in any physical exercise because it was believed his father had passed on a congenital heart condition to his son. That was only until another doctor said that exercise was the best thing for Jim’s health, and he then enjoyed playing football before discovering boxing, gymnastics, wrestling, and then weightlifting. At the age of 15 he was a natural lifter and three years later was the Lancashire lightweight champion.

Halliday joined the Army at the outbreak of World War II, and was involved in the evacuation of Dunkirk before being posted to the Far East, where he became a Japanese prisoner-of-war and was forced to work on the Japanese Death Railway. When he was released in 1946 Halliday weighed just 6st (38kg) and that is when he overcame adversity for a second time.

He soon put his weight back on and returned to weightlifting. Just two years after leaving the POW camp, Halliday was captain of the British weightlifting team at the 1948 London Olympics where he won a lightweight bronze medal. He further delighted the crowd with his routine of jumping over the bar after completing his lift, which earned him the nickname “Jumping Jim”. Also in 1948, Jim won a gold medal at the European Championships in London. He also won the lightweight gold medal at the 1954 British Empire Games and middleweight title four years later. In later life, Halliday became the chief safety officer with the Electricity Board.