Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Douglas Hall, son of Mrs. Mary Hall nee Charles, and Mr. James Henry Hall was born on the 27th August 1893 in Auburn, South Australia. He went to primary school in Auburn with his brother, Henry James Hall and both are listed on the Auburn Public Primary School Honour Roll. Douglas also had four other siblings, Jessie, Ella, Alice and Elsie.

When Douglas left school he became a labourer which was a common job in the early 1900s. As a labourer he would have worked any physical job he could find that usually would have lasted for just days or weeks at a time.

At the height of 5' 6 1/2", Douglas enlisted as a Private in the 17th Reinforcement, A.I.F 27th Battalion in Adelaide, he was given the service number of 6095. It was on this day, the 22nd of November 1915, that his military career began. Almost a year later on the 7th November 1916, he embarked with the 17th reinforcements from Australia on the HMAT "Afric" that arrived in Plymouth, England, on the 9th January 1917. Later that month he went absent without leave and was punished losing one day's pay.

After being hospitalised with VD, Douglas fought in his first battle on the 25th September 1917, the Battle of Menin Road, Ypres, Belgium on the Western Front. It was an intense battle located in the trenches which cost the Australians 5013 casualties. The Battle of Menin Road was the third battle of Ypres. Fighting in horrible muddy trenches as it was Autumn and rainy, with shells raining down around him and loud gunfire overhead from the British artillery, Douglas would have been cramped next to his battalion mates while he shot at the Germans.

Later, on the 5th October, Douglas found himself in the one day bloodshed Battle of Broodseinde Ridge, Belgium. Broodseinde Ridge was a success for the Australian Corps for the amount of land they gained, but they sustained over 6,500 casualties in the process. The battle was different from many of the others the Australians had fought because it was very much open ground, hand to hand combat. Met by the Germans coincidently attacking on the same morning, Douglas would have surged forward on muddy ground and ferociously attacked hand to hand alongside his, and other battalions, which successfully drove the German attack back and left Broodseinde Ridge in Australian hands. Douglas would have witnessed first hand the key to the German's defence, their pillboxes [A concrete dug-in guard-post equipped with loopholes through which defenders can fire weapons]. The pillboxes caused large problems for the Australians as they were difficult to take over, but they were eventually bombed into submission. This battle would have been a sad but great accomplishment for Douglas, as it is likely he lost friends in it.

From mid January to mid March 1918, Douglas was hospitalised for 63 days due to sickness.

Not a month after getting out of hospital, Douglas found himself in hospital again with a General Shrapnel Wound (G.S.W.) to the face. This was due to the significant battle of Amiens which lasted from the 8th August to 11th August, 1918. Amiens was known as the spark of the "hundred days" campaign, it was a milestone for the Allies. In the battle, the 27th battalion with the rest of the Australian Corps, fought alongside the Canadian Corps, the French 1st Army, the British 4th Army, and others. By surprise attacking the Germans at exactly 4:20am, the Allies quickly outnumbered them. Douglas was likely to be one of the many men that said afterwards, the over-the-ground, open warfare of the Battle of Amiens, suited the Allies better than trench warfare. It is understandable why they said this because trench conditions were horrible at best, they were wet, muddy, cramped, and there was little sound relief, they were the place of nightmares.

After three months in hospital recovering from the G.S.W, Douglas re-joined his boys on the 21st November 1918, back in the 27th battalion, and by then the war had finished. The Germans had signed the armistice, and all the Australian Corps had stopped fighting. The war was over.

Douglas was one of the many Australian soldiers who didn't make it back to Australia straight away, he disembarked with his Battalion in Southampton, England on the 27th May 1919, after a day long journey from France, and that was the beginning of his 4 months in England. Just under a month after of arriving in England, Douglas was admitted on sickness to hospital again for 88 days. As soon as he was released, he was discharged, which ended Douglas's military service on the 18th September 1919.

Douglas Hall made his way back to Australia on the "Devon" (ship), his hometown became Thebarton (Southwark), City of West Torrens SA. It is also known that he was living at 32 Selby Street Adelaide, on the 23rd May, 1933 after being unemployed and travelling the country for an unknown amount of time. It is more than likely that after the war, Douglas became a swagman and travelled Australia as a freelance labourer. He died in Adelaide on the 13th June 1957 (age 63).

Douglas Hall was awarded:

Allied Victory Medal. 17992

British War Medal. 18202