Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

John Talbot Savignac Hall, CIE (30 November 1896 – 21 January 1964) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer who became the first post-Independence Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Naval Staff of the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. F ...

Early life

Hall was born in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, the third son of Dr. William Hamilton Hall, FSA. He was educated at Elstow School in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

and then served in the Merchant Navy before being co-opted into the Royal Navy on his 18th birthday.

Naval career

Hall served aboard off Gallipoli in the Dardanelles Campaign. In 1921, he was commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the Royal Indian Marine, and was promoted to

lieutenant-commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in 1928. The following year, he became the executive officer on HMIS ''Lawrence'' a

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

and then transferred to another minesweeper, HMIS ''Clive'' in 1930. In 1932, he was appointed commanding officer of the patrol boat HMIS ''Baluchi''. He held this command until 1934. From February to July 1937, Hall was appointed Officer-in-Charge, Navy Office Section for the Defence Department (Navy Branch) of the Government of India. In April 1937, he was promoted to commander. In 1938, he was appointed Staff Officer (Plans), Naval HQ, aboard ''

HMIS Dalhousie INS ''Angre'' is a "stone frigate" (shore establishment) of the Indian Navy in Mumbai. It is the shore-based logistics and administrative support establishment of the Western Naval Command. It is also the base depot ship of the Command and is th ...

''. Hall was promoted to

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

2nd Class on 1 December 1942, and appointed chief of staff to the Commander-in-Chief of the RIN. In January 1944, he was promoted to captain and appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

. He was then appointed as the Senior Naval Staff Officer and RIN liaison officer to the India Office, serving in this capacity until 1946. Hall then commanded HMS ''Achilles''. Upon Indian independence, he was selected to become the first post-Independence Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Indian Navy. Hall served for one year, when he was replaced by Admiral Edward Parry. Afterwards, in his permanent rank of captain, Hall commanded a destroyer squadron with HMIS ''Delhi'' (later INS ''Delhi'') as his flagship. On 1 April 1950, he was promoted to the substantive rank of rear-admiral in the newly renamed

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

. He retired from active duty on 1 September 1950, with the rank of

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

. From 1951 to 1959, he served as a

civil defence Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mit ...

officer for northeast

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. Hall died in London in 1964, aged 67.

Personal life

In 1933, he married Agnes Maud Shereen; the couple had one daughter (Elizabeth Anne) and a son (also John) who died in a missile hook-up accident while training with the Fleet Air-arm of the Scottish coast near HMS ''Fulmar'', RNAS (now RAF) Lossiemouth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, John Talbot Savignac 1896 births 1964 deaths Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Royal Navy rear admirals Royal Indian Navy admirals Chiefs of the Naval Staff (India) Military personnel from Kent Royal Navy personnel of World War I