Harold Hall May 5th 1922- Sept 14th 2015
Sportsman, dog trainer, photographer, aircraft engineer, community volunteer and stalwart Council member of the Leicestershire Wildfowlers’ Association Harold Hall passed away on September 14th 2015. Always referred to as ‘H’ he joined the Leicestershire Wildfowlers’ Association (LWA) in 1957, the year of its formation. He was popular, generous, unselfish and could always be relied upon. If you phoned him at four in the morning for a breakdown he would say “OK where are you?” He shot game and woodpigeons with a nice Lewis side by side 12 bore and for 17 years was a member of the syndicate who rented the sporting rights at the Gopsall Crown Estate in Leicestershire. Whether building pheasant pens, partridge dusting shelters or laying on their mains water, he would always insist on the highest standards of workmanship. Harold was a well known and respected gundog trainer and an expert with Springer spaniels which he also bred. He was a major player within the LWA gundog section from its earliest years and later with the East Midlands Gundog Club with which the LWA set up a joint cooperation. He was their President until shortly before his death. His late wife did not realise that he had many more than the two spaniels he was always accompanied by, until one day all the dogs which were penned at the end of his long and very large garden escaped from the pen. Mary looked out from the house windows to see her garden full of spaniels! During his time with the LWA he carried out many duties for the club including Editor of the club’s Pintail journal and their Newsletter, Events and Functions Officer, and Membership Secretary. At AGMs he was always on hand with his camera to record events. For many years he ran the WAGBI Film Library and would appear at Game Fairs for two days where he ran the film tent on the WAGBI stand and where he was ably assisted by members of his family whom he would take there on holiday.
A clever and talented man, ‘H’ served as an aircraft engineer in India during the second world war. When he was demobbed he joined a team of fully licensed aircraft examiners at Stoughton aerodrome in Leicestershire where he set up an engineering business. He continued to certificate aircraft until he was well into his 80s. Within the local community ‘H’ set up a local Talking Newspaper for the Blind and for very many years edited and recorded two editions every month. He also helped with the local drop-in centre for the elderly and drove their minibus one day a week until he was not able to do so. He raised money for local organisations and helped to organise concerts for the elderly. He was a remarkable man and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Dr. P.M.J. Shelton
(Hon. Sec. LWA)