Private George Hall

Private George A.D. Hall, 25th ( 2nd Tyneside Irish ) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. He was killed in action on 1st July, 1916, aged 18, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. He was the son of Robert and Joy Hall, Graden, Kelso. He fell with many of his comrades in the Tyneside Brigade in the attack on the strong German positions in the village of La Boiselle. Some ground was gained but at a very heavy cost. The 25th Battalion lost 5 Officers and 140 Other Ranks killed and 14 Officers and 351 Other Ranks wounded. The Tyneside Brigade in total had over 2,200 casualties. The photograph shows troops advancing over a wide no mans land at 7.30 a.m. with the lines neatly dressed and spaced and very little cover available. The colour image shows a peaceful Somme landscape today with ” no gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now”.

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