the farm at the top of Grange Lane near the College, in order to build a gun and searchlight battery to protect London during the Blitz, the site being selected because of its panoramic views over London, which can still be seen today. In 1960 the land was finally returned to the Dulwich Estate with a variety of buildings and fortifications in varying states of dilapidation still to be cleared. Bill saw an opportunity and persuaded the Estates Governors to allow the local Scouts to have their headquarters there. Nicknamed ‘The Fort’ to commemorate its wartime use, the local Scouts enthusiastically helped to refurbish the site, which was officially opened by the Chief Scout, Sir Charles McLean, in 1962. The Fort was later used as the headquarters of the Scout County of South London, after Bill was appointed County Commissioner of Greater London South, and has continued to provide facilities to Scouts from London and throughout the UK, culminating in hosting a Scout Jamboree for some 5,000 Scouts from 22 different countries in 2007. His involvement in Scouting continued for many years, allowing him to share his experience, wisdom and boundless enthusiasm with generations of Scouts and their leaders. He was awarded the Silver Wolf by The Scout Association in 1970 ‘for services of the most exceptional nature’ and appointed as a Chief Scout’s Commissioner. Bill started the Robert Hall Foundation in the 1950s with £100 of personal savings as his way of saying thank you for what Scouting had done for him. Over the 60 years since then, he has given thousands of pounds to enable the Foundation to provide aid to many. He was particularly keen to support young people with special needs and to encourage Scouting in countries with struggling economies. Bill was awarded the Bronze Wolf by the World Scout Committee ‘for outstanding service by an individual’ to the World Scout Movement, which was presented to him at the opening of the Robert Hall Foundation Campsite at Hawequas in South Africa in 2007 by HRH King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. On retirement, he moved to Jersey and, because the Island Commissioner was unwell at that time, he took on that job for six years, a role that involved campaigning and fundraising for local groups. He was appointed OBE for services to the community in 1982. He died after a short illness and is survived by his wife, Greta, three children and ten grandchildren. Obituaries were published in The Times and on the Scouting Association website on which this is based.
He loved travelling and despite his disability, which meant he was in constant pain for 46 years, he had tremendous energy and was a very generous person with a wonderful sense of humour. Latterly, he had been running musical workshops at his home in Malton, North Yorkshire, ably assisted by Margaret. Alan Hacker was married first to Anna in 1959 with whom he had two daughters; then to Karen with whom he had a son; and finally to Margaret. They all survive him. Obituaries were published in The Times , The Guardian and the Yorkshire Post on which this obituary is based. Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Robert Hall (1930-34) 25.05.1917 – 25.10.2012 school’s Scout troops and became the Patrol Leader of Curlew Patrol in 1932, attending a Scout camp in the nearby Crystal Palace Park (this was BEFORE the Crystal Palace structure was destroyed by fire in 1936!), where he met the founder of the Scout Movement, Robert Baden Powell. After leaving the College, he helped to found a 3rd College Scout Troop in 1936, the 48th Camberwell in 1937, and was appointed Assistant District Commissioner. Having been commissioned into the Territorial Army in 1938, Bill served with the Royal Army Service Corps throughout the Second World War. He initially worked with the 1st Anti-Aircraft Division in the defence of London during the Blitz. He transferred to the 7th Armoured Division and then to the 8th Army, leading re-supply convoys through the Western Desert, before moving on again to Syria and Malta. He ended the war in northern Germany with the 11th Armoured Division, received the Territorial Decoration (TD) and was twice mentioned in dispatches. When the War ended, Bill joined the London Stock Exchange as a stockbroker and in 1955 was appointed a partner in Phillips & Drew, where he stayed until his retirement in 1977. He was appointed a JP in the Newington Division of London in 1961 and a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London in 1967. After the war he had resumed his interest in Scouting and continued to lead the 3rd Dulwich College Troop. In 1939 the Army had requisitioned Henry Robert Hall, though known to everyone as ‘Bill’ throughout his adult life, was born in Dulwich and came to the College from Alleyn’s School in 1930. He immediately joined one of the
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