Joseph Hall | ParaData

Joseph Hall, son of Ernest and Annie Hall of Killymoon Street, Cookstown and husband of Pat, enlisted into the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers at Omagh, Co. Tyrone in May 1941.

He volunteered for airborne forces from the Royal Irish Fusiliers in 1943 and served with 1st (Airborne) Battalion The Royal Ulster Rifles. ‘Joe’ Hall went landed in Normandy by glider on the evening of 6 June 1944 at LZ N, near Ranville, and was initially deployed to extend the southern sector of the bridgehead. In Normandy he lost one of his best friends L/Cpl Henry Greer.

He went on to fight with 1st (Airborne) Bn, RUR in the Ardennes and The Rhine Crossing (Operation Varsity). After the Second World War he served in Palestine Sergeant Hall demobbed from the Royal Irish Fusiliers in March 1948.

After a short spell in ‘Civvy Street’ he re-enlisted in 1948 into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and served in Egypt before demob in 1952.

Joe and Pat had two daughters, Daphne and Phyllis. J

Joe Hall worked as a contracts manager at Briggs Amasco, a roofing contractors in Antrim, Northern Ireland. When he died aged 56, in April 1980 the company closed on the day of his funeral as a sign of respect to 'a one of it's best known and most respected workers'

By Wendy George

1943
1st Battalion The Royal Ulster Rifles (Sergeant)

Operations

Event

Ardennes

After the Allied landings in Normandy and subsequent advance through France and Belgium, the German Army had succeeded in stalling the Allied offensive along their line of defence at the German border - the ‘Siegfried Line’.

Event

Canal Zone Egypt

This had followed tension in Persia after British alarm at the nationalisation of its oil industry and fears for the safety of British nationals. The Brigade deployed to Cyprus in June aboard the Aircraft Carriers HMS Triumph and Warrior, the situation proving to be a false alarm.

Event

Normandy (Operation Overlord)

Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of occupied Europe commonly known as D-Day, saw the 6th Airborne Division for the first time.

Event

Palestine

Arab intransigence over the surge of Jewish immigration that followed the Holocaust in Europe led to the forming of extreme dissident Zionist groups such as IZL (Irgun Zwai Leumi) and the Stern Gang, all seeking to promote their aims through violence.

Event

Rhine Crossing (Operation Varsity)

Operation Varsity was the largest single airborne operation in history. On a single day, over 16,000 men were inserted by glider and parachute into western Germany. Around 8000 of those came from the British 6th Airborne Division, flying aboard 243 C47 aircraft and 440 gliders.

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Sgt 'Joe' Hall, date unknown.

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Military Mementos of Joseph Hall.

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Henry Greer and Joseph Hall as young Privates, date unknown.

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Sergeant Joseph Hall

{ Joe }

11 Jun 1923 - 08 Apr 1980

Service History