32 Facts About Reginald Hall

Reginald Hall was born at Britford, near Salisbury in Wiltshire, on 28 June 1870.

Reginald Hall was the eldest son of Captain William Henry Hall, the first head of Naval Intelligence, who had married the daughter of the Reverend George Armfield from Armley, Leeds.

Reginald Hall joined the training ship HMS Britannia in 1884 and two years later was appointed to the armoured cruiser Northampton.

In 1894 Reginald Hall married Ethel Wootton de Wiveslie Abney, daughter of Sir William.

Reginald Hall was promoted to commander 1 January 1901, in recognition of services with naval forces in South Africa, and later served on the battleship Magnificent, flagship of the second in command of the Channel Fleet.

Reginald Hall had a reputation as a strict disciplinarian with an ability to get the best out of a crew, so he was given some of the worst sailors to bring up to scratch.

Reginald Hall instructed the master at arms to look out for two sailors who had previously been friends but who now avoided each other.

Reginald Hall took one, told him that the other had confessed they had removed the sights, and the sailor duly confessed.

Reginald Hall took particular care for the boys and junior seamen.

Reginald Hall was next appointed captain of the cadet training ship HMS Cornwall.

The ship visited foreign ports, particularly in Germany which was now seen as the navy's greatest potential enemy, and Reginald Hall started the tour with a long list of places to investigate.

In 1910 two officers, Lieutenant Brandon and Captain Trench, who had been part of Reginald Hall's crew gathering intelligence, were sent on a 'holiday' in Germany to collect information about coastal defences by Captain Regnart of the intelligence division.

Reginald Hall was appointed to the armoured cruiser Natal following the death of her captain, FCA.

Ogilvy had obtained a high reputation for his ship which had beaten all records at gunnery but Reginald Hall managed to step into Ogilvy's place, retaining the confidence of the crew and bettering the gunnery record the following year.

Reginald Hall had the knack of threatening men with punishments he could not deliver if they did not reform, and succeeded.

Reginald Hall introduced an innovation of his own, to divide the ship's crew into three watches rather than the customary two.

Reginald Hall believed that in the war with Germany which he expected, it would be impossible to run a ship continuously with just two watches.

Reginald Hall felt it important that the authority of petty officers should be boosted, and he did this by improving their quarters.

Reginald Hall arranged for washing machines on board, for the convenience of the officers who no longer had to pay for laundry ashore, and to the benefit of sailors who were 'tipped' to carry out the washing.

Reginald Hall introduced a bookshop on board, and the navy's first shipboard cinema.

Inadequacies in the water supply meant that it took an hour for all the stokers to finish washing after duty: Reginald Hall insisted that his engineers find a solution to provide enough hot water that they could all wash in 15 minutes, giving them more free time.

Reginald Hall was criticised for being too soft with his crews, but his requirements for discipline were not relaxed.

Reginald Hall's health had deteriorated under the stress of continuous sea service, and after three months matters had reached the point where he was obliged to request posting away from the ship.

Reginald Hall served as DID until January 1919, when he retired from active duty.

Reginald Hall encouraged cooperation with other British intelligence organizations, such as MI5, MI6 and the Special Branch of Scotland Yard.

Thanks to intercepts from Room 40, Reginald Hall was instrumental in the interception of the steamer Aud on 21 April 1916 by HMS Bluebell, which was carrying German arms to Ireland.

Reginald Hall was aware of the upcoming Easter Rising in Dublin, but refused to reveal his sources, so that when information of the rising did reach the government, its authenticity was questioned.

Reginald Hall interrogated Casement and allegedly refused Casement the opportunity of making a public demand for the cancellation of the uprising.

In 1917, Reginald Hall was awarded the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, which represents the second highest of eight classes associated with the award.

Reginald Hall was knighted in 1918 and was promoted to vice-admiral in 1922 and to full admiral in 1926, both on the retired list.

Too old to return to active service on the outbreak of World War II, Reginald Hall nevertheless served in the Home Guard until his death.

Reginald Hall was known as "Blinker" on account of a chronic facial twitch, which caused one of his eyes to "flash like a Navy signal lamp".