On Chatham Naval Memorial is the name of K/20996 Stoker 1st Class Robert Raymund Hall, serving on H.M.S. Formidable with the Royal Navy who died 01/01/1915.
The son of Ann Hall, of 57, Eleanor Street, Cullercoats, Northumberland, and the late George Hall.
Angela Conroy has sent in this report from the Whitley Seaside Chronicle 16/01/1916:
Robert Raymond Hall
Cullercoats Youth who went down with the Formidable.
Robert R. Hall 1st class stoker on board H.M.S. “Formidable” sunk by an explosion or torpedo on Friday, the 1st January 1915 was one of the hundreds of gallant seamen who rendered up their lives on the sad occasion.
Young Hall, for he was only 19 years of age, resided with his mother at 57 Eleanor Street, Cullercoats, previous to joining the Navy in October 1913.
He was one of Mr Hingley’s scholar’s, and on leaving school at Cullercoats was a couple of years at Eastman’s, Whitley Bay, and afterwards about twelve months with Mr Snaith, manager of the River Plate branch, butcher’s, Cullercoats.
The deceased young sailor, who was well known and greatly esteemed by a large number of friends and acquaintances on the seaside, has a brother in G Company, Northern Cyclists’ Battalion, now at Morpeth.
A saddening circumstance is the fact that deceased in common with the majority of the crew of the ill-fated “Formidable,” is described as “missing,” the body not having been recovered.
Acknowledgments also to Barney Rice
Robert Raymund Hall is remembered at Cullercoats on C68.01 and in our List of Ships’ Crews.
