1901 Born Charles Edward Hall born Belper includes Wirksworth
1911 census living at 5 St Marys Gate , Wirksworth, Derbyshire
1920 Aug 28. Died In Irish GRO as C E Hall with no Christian names. At Middleton, CWGC gives this date, his grave gives 28 Aug 1920.
It is difficult to see if one or two Camerons died in this 2 day periood. As far as I can tell only one Cameron was killed, and he was the man driving the lorry at the ambush. There is no "Young" on CWGC And Pte J Young 34731 of Cameron Highlanders is only reported wounded on official reports.
" Rebel Corks fighting stories " has p227 the story of the lorry ambush on 26 Aug 1920. The say that the first volley killed the driver "Hall" and that the lorry was able to continue as the lorry was taken over by another soldier who accelerated the lorry out of danger. Lt Beggs and Private Wintern of the Camerons were badly wounded
Private C H Smith's BEM citation
One section of the ambushing party waited behind a five-foot wall, while another section were detailed to pull down a tree as the enemy approached. This second section had the protection of a covered bank on the roadside, three feet high, with a drop of five or six feet on the inside. The British were expected to come from the Midleton direction, where the Camerons were stationed at the time. One of the scouts, Volunteer Sean Kelleher, hearing a lorry coming from Castlemartyr in the oppsite direction, jumped on his motor-cycle and rushed to warn Joseph Aherne of its approach. It was around 2.00 pm when Kelleher and another scout, Volunteer Michael Kearney, signalled the approach of the enemy. As the lorry sped down the incline into the ambush position the IRA opened fire. The first volley killed the driver but did not stop the lorry. The wheel was immediately taken over by the auxiliary driver who accelerated away from the danger zone. As the vehicle came under heavy fire from the left-hand side of the road, frantic efforts were made by the young men on the opposite side to topple the tree that would bring it to a halt. Eventually the tree came down and actually struck the back of the lorry but did not cause it to stop or go out of control and the British managed to escape and return to their barracks. Apart from the death of the driver, named as Private Hall, Lieutenant Beggs and Private Wintern were also badly wounded. The IRA suffered no casualties during the encounter. However, at least five of the attacking party were victims of the Clonmult massacre only six months later
Hall was Buried WIRKSWORTH CEMETERY, Derbyshire and is recorded as such on CWGC. His memorial reads
