Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Ballarat & District in the Great War

A blameless life,
A sure reward

Lt John Kenworthy Hall was born at Ballarat on 14 June 1887. He was the second of two sons born to James Hall and Alice Ann Hayden. Their only sister, Doris, was born in 1893, but only lived for a matter of hours, so the Hall family was by circumstance far smaller than was usual for the era.

As was common practice in families of this time, the new baby had “inherited” his name via a surname to given name pattern: Kenworthy was his paternal grandmother’s maiden name. From early on he was to be known by the diminutive Ken.

Both Ken, and his older brother Walter, attended the Urquhart Street State School, where he was first enrolled in April 1891. After leaving school, Ken worked as a commercial traveller for his father’s boot manufacturing business – the well-known Hall & Sons factory.

Following the historic Landing at Gallipoli enlistment numbers in Australia climbed dramatically – the reality of warfare had been brought home most forcibly with the loss of many local men in action. The need for good quality reinforcements was imperative and recruitment drives were in full swing all over the country when Ken Hall made the decision to enlist. He volunteered in Melbourne on 29 June 1915, where his previous military training (4 years with school cadets and 4 years in the ranks of Ballarat’s 7th Regiment) was duly noted. The standard medical examination concluded that he had very good physical development and normal eyesight – he stood 5-foot 8¾-inches tall, weighed in at 10-stone 8-pounds and his chest, when fully expanded, measured a substantial 37½-inches. Upon being passed fit for active service, Ken went immediately into camp at Seymour.

On 28 August 1915 at St Andrew’s Church in Clifton Hall, Ken married his sweetheart Cassie Lilian Tipping; they only had a brief time together before Ken was back in camp. Cassie then returned to her parent’s home in Knowles Street in the Melbourne suburb of South Northcote.

After joining the AIF, Ken was enrolled in an Officer’s Training School, where he displayed a ‘marked aptitude’ for the course and passed with credit. It was said, however, that because he was anxious to get to the Front, Ken chose not to wait for the highly prized commission to come through. He embarked as a private with the 13th reinforcements for the 14th Battalion only a few days after Christmas 1915. His commission came through to the Ballarat Camp ten days after he sailed.

By this time Cassie Hall was expecting their first child.

Many of the new reinforcements destined for the 14th Battalion found themselves, on arrival in Egypt, transferred to the unit’s sister battalion, the 46th. So it was with Ken Hall, who joined the ranks of the newly raised battalion at Tel-el-Kebir on 6 March 1916. Within days it was announced that he had received his commission. In the competitive examinations used to select new officers, Ken had placed third on the list and was appointed second lieutenant on 12 March.

In consequence of the promotion, the allotment Ken had made to Cassie dramatically increased, going from 4-shillings per day to 11. This was to prove even more necessary with the birth of their son, Walter James Kenworthy Hall, at Northcote on 5 June 1916.

The 46th Battalion fought through the Battle of Pozieres during July and August of 1916. Then, on 1 October, Ken received confirmation that he had been promoted to full lieutenant, and, following a course of instruction held by the 4th Australian Division School in December, Ken was personally congratulated by the Divisional Commander on ‘having done particularly well.’

Illness began to plague Ken during March 1917 – he reported sick at Bresle on 12 March and was admitted to the 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Edgehill, where he was initially diagnosed with influenza. After being discharged to duty six days later it was clear that Ken was still unwell. He was once again admitted to hospital suffering from a persistent fever. On 24 March he was admitted to the 2nd Red Cross Hospital in Rouen, where the diagnosis was altered to trench fever and the decision was made to evacuate him to England. He was admitted to the 3rd London General Hospital in Wandsworth on 26 March. Whilst the illness was listed as merely “slight”, he was, however, running a temperature of 103.4º and was suffering from headaches, pain and rigor.

Recuperation was a slow process, and Ken remained weak and suffered lingering effects for some considerable time. He was finally well enough to return to his unit on 20 May 1917. The 46th had just come out of the frontline having fought through the Second Battle of Bullecourt.

However, it was to be only a brief return, with Ken being seconded for duty back in England, where he was placed in command of a 12th Training Battalion School at Codford Camp.

On 23 August1917, Ken was On Command at the Signalling School at Dunstable, where he attended a course of instruction at the Army Signals School and qualified as an Instructor of Signalling. He returned to Codford and was posted as Signalling Officer to the 3rd Training Battalion on 7 November.

Throughout this period Ken was anxious to return to the Front. His Commanding Officer pointed out to him the value of his work behind the lines and urged him to remain in England. But Ken submitted persistent applications to rejoin his battalion. This was finally granted and Ken returned to France on 30 April 1918.

The 46th Battalion had marched through to Lamotte-Warfussee when Ken rejoined his men on 8 May.

On 8 August 1918, the 46th was in the vicinity north-west of Bayonvillers, north of Harbonnieres, in the Morcourt Valley, and advancing on an old German hospital when they were ‘…met by a fusillade from Germans lining the edge of the valley, but its companies and, alternately throwing themselves down to give covering fire, and making short rushes, the sections advanced to the valley. They found that, as expected, it had been a camping ground for German reserves. The valley sides were terraced with shelter bivouacs, huts for headquarters, and horse standings. It was over the top of a line of shelters on the highest terrace that the Germans were firing…’

Lieutenant Ken Hall, who was in command of the leading company, was controlling the short rushes being made by the 46th Battalion against German positions on the rim of the valley when he was killed in action. Captain North and Lieutenant Arthur Percival Phillip Kemp, from Ballarat, took charge and pushed forward with the battalion. Ken’s body was buried near Proyart by Chaplain W. D. Evans, as the Australian troops continued to push forward.

News of his death was quickly received back in Ken’s home town. At Ballarat’s All Saint’s Church on 1 September, the Venerable Archdeacon William Tucker led an In Memoriam service to celebrate the life and sacrifice of Ken Hall – the playing of Chopin’s Funeral March and the Dead March in Saul underlined the sombreness of the occasion. The sounding of the Last Post left the large congregation in no doubt that another of Ballarat’s soldiers had “gone west.”

As was often the case, a sense of unreality persisted as letters from sons and husbands continued to arrive even after confirmation of their deaths. The last letter from Ken Hall was typical of the man himself – he was asking for support for his men.

‘…I wish you could do something for us in the shape of a comforts fund. Our battalion, being formed in Egypt, is about the only one not having a fund at home working for them. Half of our battalion was made with men from the 14th Battalion and many of the men in it are from Ballarat and district. I thought it would be possible for you to get some of the relatives in Ballarat to become interested in us. I know the 14th Battalion has a Comforts Fund in Ballarat, and being a sister battalion to the 46th, perhaps if you could get in touch with them they may assist us. But failing them you might appeal through the Ballarat papers or the Mayor. If you are successful you could send the proceeds direct to the CO 46th. We would be very grateful and be glad to write and express the thanks of the battalion. I will see that the men get the benefit of anything sent…’

As a result of Ken’s appeal, the Ballarat Branch of the 14th Battalion Comforts Fund became actively involved in supporting and building a sister fund for the 46th Battalion. Monies raised would have provided Ken’s comrades with not only financial assistance but also a sense of community connection. His last act was a valuable one.

A year to the day after his death, Ken’s mate Osborne Cole, a blacksmith from Ballarat who served with Ken in both the 14th and 46th Battalions, wrote, ‘Sadly my thoughts do wander To a grave so far away, Where we left our hero sleeping Just twelve months today…’

When writing his Will, Ken provided almost exclusively for his wife, leaving everything except a £20 bequest to the All Saint’s Tennis Club, entirely to her. Amongst the personal effects that were returned to her was a carved stone tablet from Egypt, a cribbage board, and several German souvenirs.

Ken’s widow, Cassie did not remarry. She died in 1948 when she was just 55 years old. Their son Walter served as a Flying Officer with the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II.

Battlefield combing following the conclusion of the war was successful in locating Ken Hall’s remains, which were then buried in Heath Cemetery at Harbonnieres.