George Alfred Hall was born at Badsey in 1911, the second of six children of Morris Hall, a market gardener’s labourer, and his wife, Agnes Clara (née Watton). He was a pupil at Badsey Council School from 1914-1925. George was nearly nine years old when his father died in 1920, a death brought on by his suffering in the First World War. The family lived initially at Sharps Row, Badsey, but later moved to Silk Mill Cottages.
George married Gladys Lilian Taylor in 1932. George’s whereabouts are unknown at the time of the 1939 register, but his wife was a patient at Worcester County & City Mental Hospital, Powick.
On the outbreak of the Second World War, George, who was a member of the Territorial Army, was initially called up with the Worcestershire Regiment; he later transferred to the Gloucestershire Regiment (Service No 5250201).
Lance Corporal Hall was serving with the 8th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment in the west of England when he was fatally killed in an air raid on 17th September 1940, aged 29. His funeral at Badsey three days later was accorded full military honours. Members of the Home Guard lined the road leading to the church and, at the graveside, at the conclusion of the service, the “Last Post” was sounded by a bugler of the RASC. A report of his funeral and death appeared in The Evesham Standard of 21st and 28th September 1940.
The following words are inscribed on his grave: “Peace, perfect peace.” Lance Corporal’s Commonwealth War Grave is just a short distance away from that of his father’s Commonwealth War Grave.
George’s widow, Gladys, who had been unable to attend his funeral because of illness, died at Powick in 1942. According to a reports in The Evesham Standard in 1942, the funeral took place at Badsey. This was a period when no burials were recorded, but it is assumed that she was buried close to her husband.