Athelstan Argyle Hall

He became a 2nd Lieutenant in the Western Cable Signal Company on 5 Sept 1914. On 9 Dec 1914 he became a temporary 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers Territorial Force.

He stayed in the Royal Engineers, and one week after the armistice in 1918 he filed a patent for "Improvements in or relating to wireless signalling apparatus" - this was granted on 18 May 1920. In the patent he is described as Lieutenant R E Wireless Section, Head Quarters, Cavalry Corps, BEF France.

His son Tom Hall recalled; "from 1928 to 1943 we all lived at Westport Lodge, and during the early days of the war father was in the local Home Guard, though I do not know exact details of his service. I remember that Mr Norrington was the local ironmonger in Chard High Street, where we did our shopping.

Later in the war my father re-joined the Royal Signals (where he had served in WW1) when it was realised he was a skilful radio amateur. He was made a Captain and put in charge of an area of the Radio Security Service (also called Y Intercept) based in Barnet. This comprised a number of Voluntary Interceptors listening nightly to German military transmissions from their homes in East Anglia. Their logs were then collated by Johnny and sent by despatch rider to Bletchley Park, where they were decoded.

We left Westport Lodge and moved to Cricket House in 1943 after my grandmother Jane Hall died."