Ryburgh Remembers
Gunner Charles Henry Hall
140086,”C” Bty., Royal Horse Artillery
January 26th 1897 - April 22nd 1918
Born in Foxley on January 26th and baptised on April 25th 1897, Charles was the elder son in a family of 4 children born to Henry Hall and Mary Elizabeth Allen. His siblings were an older sister, Emily and younger sister and brother, Rose and Albert
His father, born in Great Snoring farmed in Foxley before moving with his family to Hill Farm Gateley early in the 1900’s. The 1901 Census shows the family still in Foxley, but the school register gives Feb 17th1900 as the date of Emily’s admission to the school at Ryburgh under Albert Foster’s headmastership.
Charles was admitted 20th October 1902 followed by sister Rose in May 1903 and Albert in Dec 1905. The dates of leaving the school show both girls left to go to a private school in Fakenham in 1908. Emily in August followed by Rose in October. The 1911 Census shows that the two girls were boarding at Miss Emily Tuthill’s School, Hannington House in Fakenham and together they made up one fifth of the school roll! The school clearly prospered after this time as the following advertisement c 1916 shows:
We are very grateful to the Fakenham Community Archive who have kindly supplied the photograph above and the information that the former private school is now part of Crestwick House Care Home which is opposite the site of the former Fakenham Job Centre in Norwich road.
Meanwhile back home in Gateley, Charles left Ryburgh School in December 1911 to be a farm apprentice and Albert followed in March 1912 because the family “left the village”.
Finding out much about the family has so far proved to be difficult but searching the British Newspaper Archive has found one report of an incident which occurred at Hill Farm during the Hall family’s tenure and it is reproduced in full from the editions of the Dereham and Fakenham Times and Norfolk News for September 11th 1911, not long before Charles left school:
Assuming that there were no other moves after 1912 the family moved from Hill Farm Gateley to Hill House Walsingham which is the address given in the St. Sever War Cemetery Index of graves and so it is on the Great Walsingham War memorial that Charles’ name is inscribed.
photos above by kind permission of Steve Lane
Charles enlisted in Norwich on May 13th 1916 and served until 1918 Two different causes of death have been cited in the course of researching Charles’ story. From the notes accompanying the photo above, found on the Picture Norfolk website, by whose permission we have reproduced it, he died of pneumonia and this is entirely possible as the Register of Soldiers’ Effects states:
transcribed as having died at the No 11 Stationary Hospital in Rouen. The other reference, found in the St. Sever War Cemetery Index of graves, says that he died of wounds. He is interred in Plot 9, Row D ,Grave 13b. The headstone No 3689 bears the additional inscription, at a cost of 2/-7d to his father Henry:
GOD IS LOVE
His father also received his back pay and War Gratuity amounting to £25-8/-10d. On March 18th 1919 Probate was granted to Charles’ father in Norwich to administer Charles’ effects of £258-8/-10d. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals.