Herbert William Hall

A Private with the 18th Machine Gun Squadron, Herbert died on 7th of December 1918 aged 32.

Herbert was born at Blundeston on 10 November 1887, a son of Robert William and Sarah Ann Hall. In 1891 his family lived at High Street, Blundeston, and in 1901 they lived at The Street, Blundeston, and Herbert was a carpenter’s apprentice. Later his parents lived at Lyndhurst, Blundeston.

Herbert emigrated to Quebec, Canada, in May 1906, and later moved to Toronto. In 1910 he crossed over to the U.S.A., at Niagara Falls, in order to find work as a carpenter. By September 1915 he was living at Saint Catherine’s, Ontario.

On 29 September 1915 Herbert attested for the Canadian Army at Saint Catherine’s. He joined the 2nd Depot Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles. On 21 March 1916 Herbert was admitted to the Military Hospital, Hamilton, with ‘La Grippe’, on 27 March he was discharged to duty. He arrived at Shorncliffe, England, on 12 April and on 12 June he joined the 1st Lord Strathcona’s Horse Reserve Regiment. On 1 August he was transferred to the Fort Garry Horse Reserve Regiment and on 23 December he joined the Machine Gun Pool and was posted to France. 

Herbert joined the Canadian Cavalry Brigade Machine Gun Squadron on 23 January 1917. He was granted 10 days’ leave, from 15 October. Herbert was admitted to the 7th Canadian Field Ambulance on 28 November 1917, with scabies, and he was discharged to duty on 30 November.

He was posted to various Cavalry Machine Gun Squadrons: 48th from 31 March 1918; 34th from 27 April 1918; 58th from 12 June 1918; 75th from 22 May 1918. Hebert was admitted to 41 Casualty Clearing Station on 24 June 1918 with a fever, pyrexia of unknown origin, and was discharged to duty on 29 June. On 24 October he joined 18th Machine Gun Squadron. 

Herbert was granted 14 days’ leave to the U.K. from 5 December. On 7 December he was involved in a train accident at St. Ghislain. He was accidentally killed and taken to 1 Casualty Clearing Station where he was ‘brought in dead’. 

Note: Commonwealth War Graves online records give Herbert’s unit as the 2nd Battalion of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. In fact, he never served with that unit and original Commonwealth War Graves documents actually give his unit as Machine Gun Squadron 2nd Canadian Division. In tis biography we have used the unit details recorded on his service papers.