Cenotaph Stories

Arnold Vernon Rossiter Hall

Arnold Vernon Rossiter Hall was born 5 November 1893 in Peterborough ON. His parents, James and Susan Hall of 170 William Street North, Lindsay ON, had 8 children in total, with Arnold being the second youngest.

The Hall family watched all four of their sons head off to war, with Arnold enlisting on 22 February 1916 in Toronto ON with the Canadian Army Service Corps. Prior to enlisting, he had served with the C.A.S.C for 7 months, and prior to that had worked as a chauffeur, so driving for the army seems to have been a natural transition for him.

Arnold was first attached to the officer in command of Forest Control at La Motte au Bois in Northern France in Oct 1916. After that, his war service record shows that he was moved back and forth between France and England for the next 15 months until he was placed into the CASC Pool, where he stayed in the field. As a part of the 3rd Divisional Supply Column, he was attached to the Canadian Engineers Mechanical Transport. This division was responsible for not only transporting troops, but holding, moving, and issuing to the fighting troops all food, ammunition, fuel, lubricants, and any other necessary equipment. To move supplies from rear areas to the battle zone, the Corps was equipped with a variety of vehicles including 3-ton to 10-ton lorries and 40-ton tank transporters. On the early hours of 7 September 1918, Arnold was asleep in his lorry near Arras, France when an enemy shell exploded beside him, killing him instantly.

Arnold Hall is buried in Faubourg d’Amiens Military Cemetery in Arras, France. He was 24 year old.