Arthur Charles Hall, VC (11 August 1896 – 25 February 1978) was an Australian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces. His Victoria Cross was won for his actions in September 1918 on the Western Front during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Early life

Hall was born on 11 August 1896 in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of

Granville, New South Wales Granville is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in Greater Western Sydney, western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Granville is located west of the Sydney central business district, split between the Local governm ...

, to a livestock farmer and his wife. After attending school in Bathurst, he worked with his father on properties near

Nyngan Nyngan () is a town in the centre of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bogan Shire local government area within the Orana Region of central New South Wales. At the 2016 census, Nyngan had a population of 1,988 people. Nyngan is situated on the ...

Military career

In April 1916, at the age of 19, Hall enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). After training, he was posted to 54th Battalion, then serving on the Western Front in France. He was wounded in late March 1917, within two months of arriving in France. Back in the front lines by late April, he saw action during the

Battle of Bullecourt The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the W ...

and later, during the second phase of the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

, in the

Battle of Polygon Wood The Battle of Polygon Wood took place from 26 September to 3 October 1917, during the second phase of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle was fought near Ypres in Belgium, in the area from the Menin road to Polygon Wood a ...

. He was promoted to

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

after this latter battle. The battalion was involved in fighting on the Somme from early to mid-1918, including the

Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (also Actions of Villers-Bretonneux, after the First Battles of the Somme, 1918) took place from 24 to 27 April 1918, during the German spring offensive to the east of Amiens. It is notable for being the ...

. It was then involved in the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

which began in August. On 1 September 1918 at

Péronne, Somme Péronne () is a commune of the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is close to where the 1916, first 1918 and second 1918 Battles of the Somme took place during the First World War. The Museum of the Great War (known ...

, Hall rushed a machine-gun post, shooting four of the enemy and capturing nine, with two guns. Continuously in advance of the main party, he personally led assault parties, capturing many small parties of the enemy and machine-guns. On the morning of 2 September during a heavy barrage, he carried to safety a comrade who had been dangerously wounded and was in urgent need of medical attention. It was for these actions that Hall was awarded the

. After the

Battle of St. Quentin Canal The Battle of St. Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces operating as part of the British Fourth Army under the overall command of General Sir He ...

, Hall's battalion amalgamated with the 56th Battalion in October 1918, becoming the 54th/56th Battalion. He was promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

with this unit before being discharged from the AIF in August 1919.

Later life

After the war, Hall returned to the Nyngan district and purchased his own property, Gundooee station, for farming. He married in 1927. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Hall served for a time as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in a garrison unit but returned to farming sheep and cattle once his service was no longer required. Active in community affairs, he died in the district hospital on 25 February 1978, survived by his wife and four children Helen, George, Dennis and Charles. He is buried at St Matthew's Church in West Bogan, while his Victoria Cross is displayed at the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

, in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Arthur Charles 1896 births 1978 deaths Military personnel from New South Wales Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army officers Australian military personnel of World War I Australian pastoralists Australian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross