Cecil Charles Hatfield Hall (1887-1918)
Secondary schoolmaster who served with 22nd DLI was killed in action and awarded DSO
Cecil Charles Hatfield Hall, the son of Hugh Henry and Isabella Anne Hall, was born in Limehouse, London on 27 April 1887. He had three brothers and two sisters and between 1895 and 1902 he was a chorister in the Temple Church choir and went to the City of London School on an attendant scholarship. By 1901, the family had moved south of the river to Battersea, Surrey and by 1911 he was a schoolmaster living in Hull, Yorkshire, having joined the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC).
On 13 November 1914 Cecil was commissioned from the HAC into the Leicestershire Regiment as a 2nd lieutenant and was appointed temporary lieutenant in September 1915. He was later transferred to the 22nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry and promoted to temporary captain in February 1916. During 1917 he was twice mentioned in despatches and was Adjutant of the Battalion until he was promoted to acting major in April 1918. He was killed in action on 27 May 1918 and is commemorated on the Soissons Memorial. In 1918 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and again mentioned in dispatches posthumously.
His award of the DSO was gazetted on 16 September 1918 and the citation reads:
” For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When a call was made by a neighbouring unit for reinforcement, he got together some 20 men, with a Lewis gun and machine-gun, and led them forward over an embankment and across a road which was being badly sniped and machine-gunned. He subsequently brought forward more men, and conveyed an important message from Brigade Headquarters. His cool and brilliant example at a very critical time inspired all with confidence”.
Birth date: 27-Apr-1887
Death date: 27-May-1918
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 30 Victoria Road, Battersea, Surrey (London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1916)
‘Beeches’, Babington Road, Streatham, Surrey (1901 Census
72 Morpeth Street, Hull, Yorkshire (1911 Census)
70 Old Broad Street, London (England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1918)
Education: Trent College
City of London School (Commonwealth War Graves Commission)
Employment: Secondary Schoolmaster (1911 Census)
Family: Father: Hugh Henry Hall
Mother: Isabella Annie Hall (nee Hatfield)
Siblings: Hugh Henry Hatfield, Leslie George Hatfield, Winifred, Reginald Alfred & Lorna Mabel Hall
Military service:
Honourable Artillery Company
Leicestershire Regiment
2nd Lieutenant
22nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry
Major
Medal(s): Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatched (4)
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Memorial(s): Durham Cathedral DLI 1914-1918 Book of Remembrance
Soissons Memorial, France
Gender: Male
Contributed by John Edwards
