Sir Douglas Basil Hall, 14th Baronet, (1 February 1909 โ 8 April 2004) was a British colonial administrator. He served as the last Governor of the
British Somaliland Protectorate
British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Soma ...
before its independence, from 11 July 1959 to 26 June 1960. He was also a lifelong radio enthusiast.
Early life
Hall was born on 1 February 1909, the son of Captain Lionel Erskine Hall and Jane Augusta Reynolds. Though raised in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, he was a descendant of
Sir John Hall and his son
Sir James Hall
Sir James Hall of Dunglass, 4th Baronet Royal Society, FRS FRSE (17 January 1761 โ 23 June 1832) was a Scotland, Scottish geologist and geophysicist. He was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for St. Michael's borough ( ...
, who each had a footnote in the history of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
He was educated at
Radley College
Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, and ...
and
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...
, graduating to earn an MA. He married Rachel Marion Gartside-Tipping in 1933 (d. 1990) and they had four children, the first of whom died in infancy.
Hall developed an interest in home-built radios and electronics at age 15 when he built his first receiver, a detector unit, in 1924. Beginning with an article in
Practical Wireless
''Practical Wireless'' is a British amateur radio magazine, published monthly by Warners Group Publications.
History and profile
The magazine was founded in 1932 (as a supplement to ''Hobbies'' magazine) by F.J. Camm of George Newnes Publishers. ...
of December 1943, Hall subsequently published over 100 articles with circuits, construction advice and commentary in magazines like
Radio Constructor and
Radio Bygones.
Career
; Northern Rhodesia
Hall joined the
Colonial Administrative Service
The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...
in 1930 and served in
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...
(now
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
) for almost 30 years. He was a
District Officer from 1932 to 1950 and Senior District Officer from 1950 to 1953, he was promoted
Provincial Commissioner
Provincial may refer to:
Government & Administration
* Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country
* Provincial city (disambiguation)
* Provincial minister (disambiguation)
* Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...
in 1953 and
Administrative Secretary
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...
in 1955. Hall concluded his service in Rhodesia as Secretary for Native Affairs (1956โ1959).
Hall was made Companion,
Order of St. Michael and St. George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
It is named in honour ...
(CMG) in 1958 and knighted () in 1959.
; British Somaliland
In 1959, Sir Douglas was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of
British Somaliland
British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British Empire, British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Soma ...
(1959โ1960).
He was the last person to hold this office, as the territory gained independence and united with
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐; ar, ุงูุตูู
ุงู, aแนฃ-แนขลซmฤl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
the following year.
Later life
Hall retired to Ringmore,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
, where he became a magistrate, and was a member of the Devon and Cornwall Police Authority from 1971 to 1979.
; Baronet
Sir Douglas Hall, Kt., had himself been knighted for some two decades when, in later life, he inherited his familyโฒs baronetcy, to become, in addition, Sir Douglas Hall, Bt.. The Scottish baronetcy - a baronetcy in the
Baronetage of Nova Scotia
Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain.
Baronetage of England (1611โ1705)
King James I ...
- of Hall of Dunglass dates from 1687.
Douglas descended from a junior branch and would not have expected to inherit, but the senior line died out and the inheritance passed to his own branch. By then, Captain Lionel had died but each of his three sons gained the title in turn: Sir Lionel became the 12th Baronet, inheriting from his kinsman in 1974; Sir Neville outlived him and succeeded the following year, holding the title for three years, before passing on the line to the third brother, Sir Douglas, in 1978.
Douglas Hallโฒs first child died in infancy, but his surviving son, Sir John Hall, is the current holder of the title and has issue.
Sir Douglas Hall died in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on 8 April 2004 at age 95.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Douglas, 14th Baronet
1909 births
2004 deaths
Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia
Colonial Administrative Service officers
Governors of British Somaliland
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George