HALL, Henry Norman, (1892-1962)Henry Hall was enrolled by his mother at Geelong College from 1905 and left in 1910. His address at enrolment was 16 Myers St, Geelong. He was born 27 April 1892, the son of Henry William Hall and Mary nee Dann. He is recorded with the following awards in the Speech Day Prize Lists:
1906 1st French Preparatory Form.
1907 1st Algebra Lower 4th Form.
1907 1st Geometry Lower 4th Form.
1907 2nd Latin Lower 4th Form.
1907 1st French 3rd Form.
1908 2nd Geometry Middle 4th Form.
He worked as a Clerk before World War I. After spending 4 years in the Voluntary Cadets he enlisted (15869) in the AIF on 11 November 1915. He transferred to the 8th Field Ambulance, embarked for Egypt from Sydney on 17 November 1916 on SS Port Napier where he continued his duties with the Australian Army Medical Corps (AAMC).
He wrote from France on 30 August 1917, as reported in
Pegasus:
‘I am in the 8th Field Ambulance, and we have a fine lot of chaps, you could not wish to meet a better crowd. I have met quite a number of Old Boys, and often see Arthur David and Frank Herman. I have just been reading an account of Old Boys’ Day, and it brings back pleasant memories; it will be great to get back home once more. . . . I have been struck by the courage of our wounded men; you never hear them complain, and you cannot help jolting them now and then as you are carrying them on the stretcher.’ In June 1918, he was transferred to the Australian Electrical and Mechanical Mining Company (AEMMC) where he worked as a Sapper in France until February 1919. The role of the AEMMC was to generate electricity and manage supply and to service small engines and pumps for water supplies. He returned to Australia on the ship,
Kildonian Castle from London, embarking on 21 March 1919.
After the war he married his wife Amy, and again worked as a Clerk. He died on 3 May 1962, predeceasing his wife by 4 years. The couple are buried in the Geelong Eastern Cemetery.
His older brother,
William Phillip Hall (1889-1917), was killed in action at Polygon Wood on 26 September 1917, and buried at Duhallow Advanced Dressing Station Cemetery, Ypres. Did he serve in WW II?
Sources: Based on an edited extract from Geelong Collegians at the Great War compiled by James Affleck. p 207 (citing Pegasus; National Archives).