Edward Hall was a twenty-nine
year old cabinet maker living above his father's tailor's shop at
94 Railway Approach when he enlisted in September 1914. Although Edward
Hall wanted to help the war effort, he was concerned about having
to kill people and asked to be employed as a stretcher-bearer.
A stretcher-bearer
had one of the toughest jobs in the British Army. In good conditions
two men could carry a wounded man on a stretcher. However, after heavy
rain it took four men to lift a stretcher. Men like Edward Hall not
only had the problem of dragging their feet out of the mud after every
step, they also had to make sure not to rock the stretcher as this
would increase the pain of the wounded man.
The most difficult part of the stretcher-bearers' job came after a
major battle when so many wounded men were in No
Man's Land. Not only did they witness horrific injuries, they
also knew they could not rescue all the men that needed treatment.
Stretcher-bearers therefore had the unpleasant task of deciding which
casualties had the best chance of surviving. This meant that they
had to leave men in extreme agony to die in 'No Man's Land'.
Edward Hall was a successful, but unambitious soldier who twice rejected
offers of promotion. He also refused all leave and served on the Western
Front for fourteen months without a break. On 30th September, after
one particular act of bravery, Edward Hall was awarded the Military
Medal. A week later, Private Edward Hall was killed in action.
(1)
The East Grinstead Observer (30th September 1914)
Private E. L. Hall of East Grinstead has won the Military Medal for
Valour. Private Hall is the son of Mr. and Mrs. H. Hall of St. Elmo,
Grovenor Road, East Grinstead. Private Hall was in the recent magnificent
advance of the British Army in France and acted as stretcher-bearer
to his company. His magnificent conduct and cool cheerfulness through
this trying time was not overlooked by his superior officers.
Last
updated: 20th August 2002
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