HALL, David
| Service Number: | 189 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 41st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Paddington, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 11 February 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery, Armentieres Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery, Armentieres, Lille, Nord Pas de Calais, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Brisbane 41st Battalion Roll of Honour, Corinda Sherwood Shire Roll of Honor, Graceville War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 18 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 189, 41st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 189, 41st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Sydney |
Help us honour David Hall's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
David Hall was a 27 year old labourer when he enlisted on 10th December 1915. He was married to Matilda Hall and they had a daughter, Matilda Jean. He stated his address as Darra, Queensland and his occupation as labourer.
David enlisted around the same time as Herbert Strong (see above) and Sidney Haggar (see below) and like Herbert and Sidney was drafted into the newly created 41st Battalion. The battalion embarked on the “Demosthenes” in Sydney on 18th May 1916 and sailed for Plymouth via Cape Town.
The 41st Battalion was part of the 11th Brigade; 3rd Division AIF. The 3rd Division, unlike the other 4 Australian divisions was not sent directly to the western front. Instead the 3rd Division spent considerable time in England training under the new divisional commander, Maj. Gen. John Monash and was not deployed to France until the beginning of 1917.
As a newly arrived battalion to the front, the 41st was stationed in an area referred to as the nursery trenches near Armentieres. This area had not seen any serious fighting since 1914 and was considered an ideal location to accustom troops to the business of trench warfare; even though there were no trenches as the ground was too boggy. The front in this sector was made up of built up breastworks about 8 feet high made out of sand bags.
Soon after taking up position in the front line, the battalion commander was ordered to organise a raid on the enemy lines on 11th February at Square Farm. These raids served two purposes; the first being to give the troops exposure to contact with the enemy, and the second being to gather intelligence about the strength of the enemy. A party of 40 men comprising three officers and two platoons set off at midnight, after a short artillery barrage to cut the German wire.
Cutting barbed wire entanglements using artillery was an art form that field artillery found difficult to master. On this particular raid, the wire was not cut and the raiding party being held up at the German wire abandoned the enterprise. The war diary of the 41st records that as the party was withdrawing they came under intense fire from machine guns and minenwerfers (heavy trench mortars). No mans land was also illuminated by searchlights.
Casualties from the raid were one O/R killed, 8 O/R wounded. Sadly the one ordinary rank killed was David Hall. Red Cross reports indicate that he was killed outright by concussion of a heavy mortar. His mates carried the body back to the Australian lines and David was buried in a nearby military cemetery at Cite BonJean.
Soon after David’s death, Matilda and young Matilda moved from Darra to live with David’s unmarried sister at Newmarket; and then to Enoggera to live with Matilda’s mother. Matilda was granted a war pension of two pounds per fortnight and one pound for young Matilda.
It is difficult to explain how David’s name appears on the Graceville memorial and yet does not appear on the Oxley Memorial, which lists a number of young men from the Oxley and Darra district.
Courtesy of Ian Lang
Mango Hill