Born in Chilvers Coton, Warwickshire, Halford was the son of a violinist, and when young sang in a local choir and played brass in a local orchestra. He studied the organ under William Chater at nearby Holy Trinity Church, Coventry, and in 1875 moved to Birmingham, where he studied piano and composition under Charles Swinnerton Heap and was successively the organist at St John's Church, Wolverhampton from 1881, St Michael's Church, Handsworth from 1886 and St Mary's Church, Handsworth from 1891. He graduated in 1892 as a Bachelor of Music from the University of Durham and a fellow of the Royal College of Organists. From then until 1927 taught piano and musical theory at the Birmingham and Midland Institute School of Music.
