Walter Charles Hall

A Private with the 2nd Battalion, Walter died on 23rd of September 1918 aged 33.

Walter was born at Lowestoft on 19 February 1885, a son of James and Ellen Hall. He was baptised at Christ Church on 1 April 1885 and his family lived at 24 Anguish Street. By 1891 they were living at 22 Spurgeon Street and in 1911 they lived at 2 Spurgeon Street, and Walter was a fisherman.  

Walter volunteered and enlisted in the Army at Lowestoft. He joined the Suffolk Regiment and was posted to the 9th Battalion, arriving in France with the battalion on 31 August 1915. Later he was posted to the 12th Battalion, and this may have been in February 1918 when the 9th Battalion was disbanded. Subsequently he was posted to the 2nd Battalion, and served withy D Company, this posting may have been in May 1918 when the 12th Battalion was reduced to a cadre. 

On 23 September 1918 the 2nd Battalion were involved in company training at Morchies-Beaumetz. The battalion war diary records that platoon commanders reconnoitred assembly positions and each platoon spent 15 minutes inspecting a model of the area of attack. During the day there were 14 casualties, but the diary offers no explanation of what happened to any of them. 

Walter was killed on 23 September. He was buried at Beaumetz-le-Cambrai with two other men of his unit, 15424 Private Arthur Budds, who also came from Lowestoft, and 17128 Private Hawes, who were both also killed on that day.