HALL, Norman John Alexander
| Service Number: | 2033 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 February 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 52nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, July 1894 |
| Home Town: | Hobart, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Storeman |
| Died: | Hit By A Shell, Pozieres, France, 14 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Hobart Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2033, 12th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 1915: | Involvement Private, 2033, 12th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 1 Apr 1915: | Embarked Private, 2033, 12th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Lincoln, Adelaide | |
| 1 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 52nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 13 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 52nd Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Norman John Alexander Hall's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Sharyn Roberts
Son of John and A HALL
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
From The Somme
Corporal Norman John Alexander Hall of 12th Battalion, attached to the 52nd Battalion, 4th Australian Division, Australian Imperial Force. he died on the 14th August 1916, killed in action at Pozieres. His body was never found and he is remembered on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
On August 14, 1916, Norman was delivering rations with another soldier when they were hit by enemy shelling. Chaplain William McKenzie later wrote to Norman’s mother:
“While out on the battlefield beyond Pozieres, France, searching for fallen comrades I came across the dead body of your brave soldier son — Private Hall — and dug a grave near him, giving him Christian burial to the accompaniment of heavy shelling.
“He had been dead for some days. I do not know how long, probably you have heard the particulars of his death from other sources. I enclose his paybook and disc, which are all that I found on him. All his other effects (if he had any) had been removed.
“This loss is a said blow to you, and I desire to tender my deepest heartfelt sympathy to you in this great loss. His body was considerably shattered, he had been killed by shell fire, and fell with his face to the foe.
“He has given his life for his King and County making the great sacrifice in the cause of freedom. You have reason to feel proud in being the mother of such a borne soldier. His labours are o’er, he is at rest in a soldier’s grave 1¼ miles northeast of Pozieres.”
The formal report of Norman’s death records that he was buried behind the communications trench from Pozieres to Mouquet Farm, aged 23.
As with so many Anzacs, the location of Norman’s resting place was eventually obscured and he is commemorated at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France.
His younger brother, Sergeant Eric Hall, died of wounds received at Broodseinde Ridge in October 1917 and is remembered at tree 344 on the Avenue.
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