HALL, Reginald Eric
| Service Number: | 1918 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 February 1916, Enlisted at Goulburn |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 55th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia, 5 September 1897 |
| Home Town: | Goulburn, Goulburn Mulwaree, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 20 October 1917, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Buffs Road Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Goulburn District Railway Employees Great War Honour Roll, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1918, 55th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Goulburn | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 1918, 55th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Barambah embarkation_ship_number: A37 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 1918, 55th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Barambah, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Reginald Eric HALL, (Service Number 1918) was born on 5 September 1897 at Goulburn. He began working for the NSWGR as an office boy in the Per-Way Branch at Goulburn in September 1912, but a year later was ‘not required’, but immediately re-employed as a shop boy. This position did not last long as only two months later he had become a junior clerk at Hay, returning to Goulburn in the same role nearly two years later. In February he was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces.
He enlisted at Goulburn on 28 February 1916, then being 18 years and 5 months old. He was unmarried and gave his father as his next of kin.
He was killed in action on 20 October 1917. He had been in a support trench when a shell burst very close and killed hm outright. His comrade L/Cpl J Boag (2033) reported that:
‘I saw him killed on 20th October at Polygon Wood. We were in supports when a shell burst, and pretty well blew him to pieces.’
He was buried near a pill box, at map reference J.3.d,5-2 (Reference Map, France, Sheet 28). After the war this isolated grave was located, and the remains exhumed and re-interred at Buffs Road Cemetery, situated near St. Jean, approximately 2¼ miles North North East of Ypres.
Submitted 15 August 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Reginald Eric HALL (Service Number 1918) was born on 5th September 1897 at Goulburn. He began working for the NSW Government Railways as an office boy in the Per-Way Branch at Goulburn in September 1912, but a year later was ‘not required’. However, he was immediately re-employed as a shop boy. This position did not last long as only two months later he had become a junior clerk at Hay, returning to Goulburn in the same role nearly two years later. In February he was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces.
He enlisted at Goulburn on 28th February 1916, then being 18 years and 5 months old. He was unmarried and gave his father as his next of kin. He left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Barambah’ on 23rd June 1916. He reached Plymouth (England) two months later. Within a month he had been hospitalised with venereal disease. It was not until the middle of December that he went to France, where he was again hospitalised, now with scabies. He finally joined the 55th Australian Infantry Battalion on 22nd January 1917. In June he was transferred to the Pigeon School for three days.
He was killed in action on 20th October 1917. He had been in a support trench when a shell burst very close and killed hm outright. His comrade Lacnce Corporal J Boag (2033) reported that:
‘I saw him killed on 20th October at Polygon Wood. We were in supports when a shell burst, and pretty well blew him to pieces.’
He was buried near a pill box, at map reference J.3.d,5-2 (Reference Map, France, Sheet 28). After the war this isolated grave was located, and the remains exhumed and re-interred at Buffs Road Cemetery, situated near St. Jean, approximately 2¼ miles North North East of Ypres.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board