HALL, Dr. HARRY SPENCER, L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S.

 

Source

CWGC

SDGW

Uttoxeter Advertiser

Other

Parents

Henry Sinclair Hall and Anne Leigh Keturah Hall

Yes

 

 

Gravestone (father’s name)

Where born

Barton Regis, Gloucestershire

 

 

 

BMD Index volume 6a

Clifton College, Bristol

 

 

 

1.     Cambridge University Alumni Record

When born

5th January 1880

 

 

 

2.     BMD Index volume 6a

3.     Cambridge University Alumni Record

Address

9, The Avenue, Clifton, Bristol (parents)

Yes

 

 

 

Where educated

Cambridge

 

 

 

 

Spouse

 

 

 

 

 

Children

 

 

 

 

 

Employment Before Joining up

 

 

 

 

 

Where enlisted

 

 

 

 

 

Regiment

Royal Army Medical Corps

Yes

Yes

 

1.      Cambridge University Alumni Record

2.      Gravestone

Unit

 

 

 

 

 

Rank

Lieutenant

Yes

 

 

1.      Cambridge University Alumni Record

2.      Gravestone

Service Number

 

 

 

 

 

Date of Death

3rd March 1915 (WRONG)

 

 

 

 

14th March 1915

Yes

Yes

Roll of Honour

1.      Cambridge University Alumni Record

2.      Gravestone

Age at time of death

35

Yes

 

 

Gravestone

Where Killed or died

England – Military Hospital in Lichfield

 

 

Roll of honour

Cambridge University Alumni Record

How he died

Wounds or illness

 

Yes

Deduced from the fact that he died in hospital

 

Location of Grave or Memorial

Whittington (St. Giles) Churchyard, Lichfield

Yes

 

 

Verified by paying a visit

Awards

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

Harry Spencer Hall was born into a well-to-do family.

The 1871 census shows his father, Henry Sinclair Hall as a 22 year old scholar in residence at Christ’s College, Cambridge. Henry Sinclair Hall was a British National, but, interestingly, the 1871 census gives his birthplace as Rio Grands De Sul, Brazil. He was still single at this stage.

Henry Sinclair Hall, Harry’s father, led a full and distinguished life. Not only did he gain a B.A degree in 1873 at Cambridge, he went on to get an M.A in 1886. He was Assistant Master at Clifton College (his old school) from 1873 to 1899 and taught many distinguished soldiers. He also jointly authored a number of mathematical textbooks.

Harry’s mother, Anne Leigh Keturah Knapp was born in Little Linford Hall, Little Linford, Havesham cum Little Linford, near Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire.

The 1851 Census shows the family living in Little Lindford Hall and gives us a fascinating insight into the way they viewed themselves. Harry’s grandfather gave his Rank, Profession or Occupation as ‘Justice of the Peace’, his wife’s as ‘Gentlewoman’ and each of his children as ‘Gentleman’s Son’ or ‘Gentleman’s Daughter’!

The children had two governesses and the household employed six servants..

Harry’s mother, Ann Leigh, was 6 years old . In 1861, the family was still together and living in Linford Hall.

By the night of the 1871 census there had been a huge change in circumstances for Harry’s grandmother. She had been widowed and was lodging at 78 The Regent Street, Cambridge with Anne (Harry’s mother). His grandmother gave her rank as ‘Landowner’, which suggests that she had inherited at least part of her husband’s estate.

We cannot be sure how Harry’s parents met, but Henry Hall (Harry’s father) started at Cambridge the year before John Knapp (Harry’s uncle on his mother’s side). They were both at Christ’s College, and it is possible that John introduced his sister to Henry

By the time of the 1871 Census, Henry Hall had been a student at Cambridge for about three years and John (son of Mary and brother of Anne Knapp) had been there for about two years. Were Mary and Anne visiting John, and is this when Harry’s parents met?:

Harry’s parents married at some time between 1871 and 1881.

Harry Spencer Hall was born in 1880 in Barton Regis, Gloucestershire. By this time his father had graduated from Cambridge and was Assistant Master at Clifton College, Bristol.

The 1881 Census was taken when Harry was just one year old. It shows his parents living in Clifton with a number of servants. The household also included a sister and two nieces, who will either have been visiting them or living with them.

Note that Harry’s siblings, Charles and Maud, appear to have been twins. Note also that Harry’s mother’s birthplace is given as Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire.

Harry went up to Cambridge as an undergraduate in 1899. He read Natural Sciences in Pembroke College..

The 1901 Census lists Henry as being a retired Schoolmaster and Harry as a Student at Cambridge University. During the evening of the Census they were in Usk, Monmouthshire, presumably on holiday together? Given that his father was an enthusiastic ornithologist and angler, it is tempting to imagine them enjoying these outdoor pursuits together in the Welsh countryside. Harry’s mother and other siblings were at home in Clifton.

Meanwhile, Little Linford Hall now belonged to Mathew Knapp, Harry’s mother’s eldest brother. As was the way in those days, the property had not passed to Selina, despite the fact that she was in fact the eldest child and a year older than Mathew.

Harry gained a First Class B.A degree in Natural Sciences in 1902. He then went on to get an M.A at St. Thomas’s Hospital, London, qualifying as a doctor and gaining his L.R.C.P and M.R.C.S. in 1911. He then moved to the Uttoxeter area and acted as Locum to the town. He must have been loved by the townsfolk because he can only have been associated with the town for three or four years, yet they included him on their war memorial.

He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1914 either at the outbreak of war or during the first 5 months, and died in a military hospital in Lichfield in March 1915.

The nearest Military Hospital to Harry’s final resting place was attached to the barracks in Whittington, Lichfield. This is where we believe he died.

 

Harry is buried in St. Giles’ Churchyard in Whittington, Lichfield

 

 

In this picture, Harry’s grave is marked by the white cross in the foreground on the right

 

It would be interesting to find out why there is no mention of his mother on his gravestone

Harry came from a family of high-achievers and we wonder what he would have achieved if he had survived the war. His brother Arthur also went to Cambridge University and went on to have an illustrious career in engineering

His uncle, John Oliph Charles Knapp, also went to Cambridge University and he became a priest.

Harry was not the only member of the family to lose his life during the war. His cousin, Lieutenant Arthur Douglas Knapp, died at the age of 40 on the 27th May 1917 in Tanzania.

He was serving with the Nyassaland Field Force and had been mentioned in despatches. He is buried in Grave 5.C.10 in the Dar Es Salaam War Cemetery in Tanzania and commemorated on the War Memorial at the ancestral home on Little Linford.

The memorial at Little Linford is a brass plaque on the wall to the left of the Lady Chapel in St. Leonard’s Parish Church, which is on private property on a gated road. It is open to the public on Sundays.

Twenty seven men, went to the war from 14 houses in the village, and of these, two were killed.

Arthur’s father, Mathew G. S. Knapp, J.P D.L., was Harry’s uncle on his mother’s side.