RARE 3.5X6 Christmas card signed in bold fountain pen ink by Basil Hallam. A super rare example of his signature.(1889-1916) Basil Hallam was an early 20th-century English actor and singer, known for the character of Gilbert the Filbert in The Passing Show. He died in action on the Western Front during World War I.Hallam died in his 29th year whilst serving as a Captain with a Kite Balloon Section of the Royal Flying Corps in France at the Battle of the Somme. In the afternoon of 20 August 1916 on the Northern part of the Somme battlefield he was crewing a tethered un-powered observation balloon watching the German line near the village of Gommecourt when its steel cable tether snapped, and the balloon, caught in an Easterly wind, began to drift towards enemy lines out of control. To avoid capture, Hallam bailed out of the balloon's basket but he was obstructed from jumping clear and fell several hundred feet to his death after his emergency parachute failed to deploy. His body was buried at a British military cemetery in the nearby village of Couin.Comes with a full Letter of Authenticity from Todd Mueller Authentics.