The Soldier's Details
- Surname:
- Hall
- First Name:
- William Harrison
- Nick Name:
- Nobby
- Rank:
- Private
- Regimental #:
- WX8747
- Classification:
- Section Orderly
- Company:
- ‘B’ Company, No. 8 Platoon.
- Enlisted:
- 23.10.1940
- DOB:
- 23.05.1901
- Place of Birth:
- Abergavenny, Wales
- Father's Name:
- John Harrison Hall
- Mothers's Name:
- Mary Hall
- Religion:
- Church of England
- Pre-war Occupation:
- Railways Ganger
- Memorial:
- Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Collective Grave, Plot 10, Row F, Grave 2-10 L4, Age 42.
- Singapore:
- Selarang Camp and Barracks Changi
- Force:
- ‘H’ Force Thailand, Group No. 3
- Camps Thailand:
- Kanu II, Malayan Hamlet
- POW#:
- 1/1963
- Cause of Death:
- Beri-Beri, Cerebral Malaria and Cholera
- Place of Death:
- Kanu II, Malayan Hamlet
- Date of Death:
- 17.07.1943
- Buried:
- Grave No. 38 (soldier’s body was not cremated).
General Description
Nobby was formerly a ganger on WA Railways and recorded in the last Electoral Roll as working at Coolgardie.
He enlisted 23 October 1940 and joined 2/4th’s ‘B’ Company 8 Platoon as a Section Orderly.
He had an interest and talent in sketching portraits of fellow POWs. Unfortunately it is not known if any of his drawings survived.
Above Photograph taken January 2018 by C. Mellor
He was one of five children born to John Harrison Hall and Mary Hannah Hedley at Abergavvenny, Wales.
Hall arrived from London at Fremantle December 1921 aged 22 years on ‘Ormuz’. His occupation was recorded as labourer.
It is quite possible Hall was in fact born in 1899 – which would have made him too old to enlist. Probably why he changed his birth year.
No other siblings migrated to Australia.
His first marriage to Kate Eveline Thomas took place 1923. There were four children from this marriage.
In 1921, 1925 and 1931 Kate and Hall were recorded living at Dwarda, and Brookton where he was working as a Railway employee.
In 1937 Electoral Roll Hall and Agnes were residing Brookhampton (Collie area) and he was working as a labourer.
He remarried before 1940 to Agnes Carmel Murray. She was one of two daughters born to Thomas Murray whose wife Alma Frances Smith died 1915 when his daughters were quite young. Thomas Murray had worked in the timber industry all his life and died in 1948 at Nannup.
When he enlisted he was living Coolgardie, employed with
WAGR.
Nobby was 42 years old when he died of beri beri, cerebral malaria and cholera. His body was not cremated and after the war moved to rest at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. He is one of 91 men from the 2/4th.
He was selected to work on the Burma-Thai Railway with ‘H’ Force Group 3. Please read further.
Camp Locations:
- Selarang Barracks Changi - Singapore
- Selarang Camp Changi - Singapore
- Kanu II, 152.30k - Thailand
