Arthur Howard Wilton Willoughby was the only surviving son of Howard Willoughby and his wife, Emily Frances (nee Jones). He was born at Harborne House in Jolimont Road, Jolimont, the house that Howard had built in 1868 two years before his marriage. It was named for the town near Birmingham, England, where he was born. Shortly after Arthur's birth the Willoughby family moved to Fairleigh in Wellington Parade. The house has been demolished but was numbered 162 and is part of the site on which 166 now stands. The family remained at Fairleigh for nearly twenty years before moving to St. Kilda. Howard Willoughby was a well known and highly regarded journalist and eventually editor of the Argus. He was one of three Argus journalists who established the Victorian Hansard. Up until 1866 there had been no official report of Parliamentary debates.

Arthur enlisted on 1 September 1915 at Melbourne when he was a clerk with the Bank of New South Wales in Flinders Street West. He was described as 5ft. 7.75ins. with fresh complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. He was stationed at Royal Park and Broadmeadows before embarking at Sydney on 17 November 1916. He disembarked at Devonport on 29 January 1917. He proceeded overseas to Etaples, France on 4 March 1917. A year later he was admitted to hospital with scabies and boils. This became an ongoing problem and he was returned to Australia for Nursing Duties on 8 November 1918 and discharged as permanently unfit on 21 February 1919. A memo in Arthur's file refers to a letter dated 1 March 1919 from Miss E. Bannerman of Hinemoa, Brook Street, Coogee, N.S.W. enquiring about his health and whereabouts. What was her connection?