Henry ‘Nobby’ Hall might have been small in stature but he was a giant among us. You sensed it whenever he turned up to an event where there were other, much younger navy personnel. There was a sudden crispness in the air, a palpable sense of reverence and deeply held respect.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was totally understandable. Here among serving sailors was a man who seemed unsinkable, a man whose experience reached back across the decades to a time when this country was in deep, dark peril.
By virtue of a serious reaction to an inoculation, he missed the ill-fated voyage of HMAS Sydney and its appalling loss of life off the Western Australian coast. But he did not miss the rest of the campaign to wrest control of the Pacific and South East Asia from Imperial Japan.
It’s daunting to read the signal sent by the Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, another Shoalhaven local, informing the service of Nobby’s passing.
Savo Island, Balikpapan, Brunei Bay, Tarakan, the Philippines, even the surrender in Tokyo Bay … Nobby Hall was there.
While serving aboard HMAS Hobart he was torpedoed, he survived the sinking of HMAS Canberra during the fierce Battle of Savo Island in August 1942.
After the war, he signed up for the new Air Branch which would become the Fleet Air Arm. He was recognised for his services as Beecroft Range manager with membership of the British Empire and later awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his work supporting veterans and the families through the Nowra-Greenwell Point Sub Branch of the RSL.
When he retired in 1981 he had served a remarkable 43 years with the Royal Australian Navy, those early years through its most challenging times.
For those who encountered him, it seemed age did not weary him, nor the years condemn. He seemed omnipresent, attending Anzac Day commemorations and ceremonial sunsets at HMAS Albatross. He was a regular guest at local schools, teaching children about the meaning and importance of Anzac Day.
As superhuman as he seemed, however, age did catch up with Nobby in the end and he passed away on Sunday, surrounded by family. He was 95-and-a-half.
We will all miss Nobby but there is no way we will ever forget him or service to country and community.