Lieutenant-Colonel Walter D'Arcy Hall, MC & Bar (10 August 1891 – 22 January 1980) was a soldier, Unionist Member of Parliament and hunter of game (big and small). Hall was born in South Yarra,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, son of

Thomas Skarratt Hall Thomas Skarrat Hall (6 December 1836 – 14 June 1903) was a British bank manager and mine director in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. Early life Thomas Skarratt Hall was born on 6 December 1836 in Kington, Herefordshire, England, the s ...

. He moved to England when he was four-years old. Hall was educated at Eton College,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he joined the

20th Hussars The 20th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. After service in the First World War it was amalgamated with the 14th King's Hussars to form became the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 1922. History Early wars The regiment was originally ...

in 1911. During the First World War Hall was awarded the Military Cross and Bar, and the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

with Palm and Star. Perhaps his most gallant action occurred on 1 April 1918 when, with 138 men of the

, he formed a dismounted company in support of the 4th Dismounted Battalion, leading them in a counter-attack against Rifle Wood (Bois d'Hourges ) near

Domart-sur-la-Luce Domart-sur-la-Luce is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D934 road, on the banks of the Luce, some southeast of Amiens. Population History Domart is sited on an ...

. The wood was well defended, and the 20th suffered heavy casualties in the action. Nonetheless, Hall and his men captured the wood and held it until relieved by the infantry. For this and other dismounted actions by members of the 2nd Cavalry Division, the Division was warmly praised by the Commander of 4th Army, General Sir Henry Rawlinson. For a period (June–August 1915) Hall was seconded to 5 Squadron, C Flight in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

as an observer. Hall was elected Member of Parliament for the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

of Brecon and Radnor on 29 October 1924 but lost his seat at the 1929 general election. He was re-elected for the same seat on 27 October 1931, serving until his retirement at the general election on 14 November 1935.

Legacy

Hall was the father of the scientist Edward Thomas Hall. His other son, Bill, was killed in Italy during WW2.

References

External links

Military Cross, London Gazette 23 July 1918 Supplement:30813, Page:8759
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Walter 1891 births 1980 deaths Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Eton College Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) 20th Hussars officers British Army personnel of World War I UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1931–1935 Recipients of the Military Cross Australian emigrants to England Politicians from Melbourne