We regret to advise of the death of Martin Randall 'Macks' Hall on 3 August 2005 in Stoney Creek ON at age 87 years.
Macks was born in Sandy Point NL, the son of William and Cecilia Hall. The family moved to Nova Scotia when he was an infant and he grew up in Lakeside and Seabright in Halifax County. In early 1939, Macks left Halifax to join a steam of young men known as the “Halifax 100”, who left Canada to join the British Armed Forces between 1937 and 1939, largely to escape crippling unemployment in Halifax at the time. Most of the Halifax 100 joined 2nd Battalion, The Manchester Regiment under an initiative started by Colonel Robert Willis, DSO, a Royal Canadian Regiment veteran of the South African War who later served with the Manchester Regiment. The 2nd Battalion deployed to France as the Machine Gun Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Division, British Expeditionary Force in 1939. They formed part of the rear-guard force that held off the German forces outside of the beaches at Dunkirk in May and June 1940. Macks was among the 300 men in the battalion lucky enough to have been evacuated from the beach. In 1941, Macks transferred to the Canadian Army and served in the Royal Canadian Engineers and saw more action in Northwest Europe.
After the war, Macks was employed with the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires in the City of Halifax. He married Mary Allison Christie on 16 May 1947 in Lakeside. They had four children, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Martin Randall 'Macks' Hall is buried in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church Cemetery, Tantallon, NS.
