Hall was born on 1 February 1909, the son of Captain Lionel Erskine Hall and Jane Augusta Reynolds. Though raised in England, he was a descendant of Sir John Hall and his son Sir James Hall, who each had a footnote in the history of Scotland. He was educated at Radley College and Keble College, Oxford, graduating to earn an MA. He married Rachel Marion Gartside-Tipping in 1933 and they had four children, the first of whom died in infancy. Hall developed an interest in home-built radios and electronics at age 15 when he built his first receiver, a detector unit, in 1924. Beginning with an article in Practical Wireless of December 1943, Hall subsequently published over 100 articles with circuits, construction advice and commentary in magazines like Radio Constructor and Radio Bygones.
Career
; Northern Rhodesia Hall joined the Colonial Administrative Service in 1930 and served in Northern Rhodesia for almost 30 years. He was a District Officer from 1932 to 1950 and Senior District Officer from 1950 to 1953, he was promoted Provincial Commissioner in 1953 and Administrative Secretary in 1955. Hall concluded his service in Rhodesia as Secretary for Native Affairs. Hall was made Companion, Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1958 and knighted in 1959. ; British Somaliland In 1959, Sir Douglas was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the British Somaliland. He was the last person to hold this office, as the territory gained independence and united with Somalia the following year.
Later life
Hall retired to Ringmore, Devon, where he became a magistrate, and was a member of the Devon and Cornwall Police Authority from 1971 to 1979. ; Baronet Sir Douglas Hall, Kt., had himself been knighted for some two decades when, in later life, he inherited his family′s baronetcy, to become, in addition, Sir Douglas Hall, Bt.. The Scottish baronetcy - a baronetcy in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia - of Hall of Dunglass dates from 1687. Douglas descended from a junior branch and would not have expected to inherit, but the senior line died out and the inheritance passed to his own branch. By then, Captain Lionel had died but each of his three sons gained the title in turn: Sir Lionel became the 12th Baronet, inheriting from his kinsman in 1974; Sir Neville outlived him and succeeded the following year, holding the title for three years, before passing on the line to the third brother, Sir Douglas, in 1978. Douglas Hall′s first child died in infancy, but his surviving son, Sir John Hall, is the current holder of the title and has issue. Sir Douglas Hall died in Derbyshire, England on 8 April 2004 at age 95.
