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Harold Percival Hall CMG MBE (9 September 1913 – 20 October 2004) was an English first-class cricketer, British Indian Army officer and civil servant.

The son of Major George Charles Hall, he was born in British India at Murree in September 1913. He was educated in England at Portsmouth Grammar School, before attending the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He graduated from Sandhurst as a second lieutenant into the unattached list of the British Indian Army in August 1933, before being appointed to the Indian Army in November 1934. Hall was appointed to the 3rd battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment and later transferred to the Indian Political Service in 1937, staying with the service throughout the Second World War.

During this period Hall played first-class cricket, making a single appearance for the Europeans cricket team against the Rest of India at Bombay in December 1940. Batting twice in the match, he ended the Europeans first innings unbeaten on 14 runs, while following-on in their second innings he was promoted to open the batting alongside Herbert Barritt, scoring 11 runs before being dismissed by Vijay Hazare. With his right-arm medium pace bowling, he dismissed Maurice Cohen and Sheshil Arolkar in the Rest of India's only innings of the match, finishing with figures of 2 for 83 from 30 overs.

At the time of the Partition of India in 1947, he had been appointed Viceroy's Agent to Lord Mountbatten. Prior to his appointment as Viceroy's Agent, Hall had concurrently held the posts of Director of Food Supplies and Deputy Secretary for Revenue for Baluchistan, for which he recognised by being appointed a MBE in the 1947 Birthday Honours. He was appointed by the Commonwealth Office to Kenya Colony during the Mau Mau Uprising in the 1950s, in addition to British Mauritius, where he helped to broker a power-sharing agreement which was later used as a model for power-sharing arrangements in Northern Ireland. Hall was seconded to the Reid Commission in 1956, which was responsible for drafting the Constitution of Malaysia prior to Malayan independence from Britain in 1957. He later chaired the inter-governmental committee of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak which led to the formation of Malaysia in 1963. He additionally served as British Deputy High Commissioner for Eastern Malaysia from 1963 to 1964. For his service in Malaysia, Hall was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1963 Birthday Honours. He left the Commonwealth Office in 1968, becoming an assistant undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Defence until 1973. From there he became director of studies at the Royal Institute of Public Administration from 1974 to 1985.

After retiring, he settled with his wife, Margery, at Avon Castle on the banks of the River Avon in Hampshire. Hall died at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital in October 2004. He was survived by his wife and two of their three sons.

References

1. Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. 1969. p. 1449.
2. ^ Stockwell, A. J. (2004). Malaysia. Stationery Office. p. 689. ISBN 9780112905813.
3. "No. 33974". The London Gazette. 1 September 1933. p. 5734.
4. "No. 34135". The London Gazette. 22 February 1935. p. 1273.
5. January 1937 Indian Army List
6. "First-Class Matches played by Harold Hall". CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
7. "Europeans v The Rest, Bombay Pentangular Tournament 1940/41 (Semi-Final)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
8. ^ "Death of man who helped shape nations". Dorset Echo. 9 November 2004. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
9. "No. 37977". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 June 1947. p. 2594.
10. "No. 43010". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1963. p. 4796.

External links

• Harold Hall at ESPNcricinfo

• 1913 births
• 2004 deaths
• People from Murree
• People educated at The Portsmouth Grammar School
• Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
• British Indian Army officers
• Indian Political Service officers
• English cricketers
• Europeans cricketers
• English civil servants
• Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
• Members of the Order of the British Empire