Narraweena resident Clifton Hall has recently passed away. He was just four weeks short of his 100th birthday (2 May 1925 to 4 April 2025).
Clifton lived through the Great Depression, fought for Australia in the Second World War in Bomber Command, had been on the board of DY RSL for 25 years (a life member) and lived with wife Lola (deceased 2019) in Narraweena since 1963.
About Clifton Bradeley Hall
Clifton Bradeley Hall was born in Cardiff, Newcastle on the 2 May 1925, he was the third of five children, having both older and younger brothers and sisters. Clifton’s father was a coal miner and the family suffered greatly under a series of reduced wages and then the Great Coal Lockout which was imposed on the miners in the Northern District collieries of NSW. Miners were locked out of work for 18 months.
By the age of 7 Clifton was tending and selling vegetables from a cart then by 10 he and his father were on either end of a two-handed band saw cutting down trees to earn extra money. Clifton had to leave school at 14 to work at the Miners Co-Op to support his elder brother’s university education. Clifton preferred carpentry and secured an apprenticeship as war broke out in Europe.
Clifton enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force a week before he turned 18 (28 April 1943). After a year of training as a Navigator he left Melbourne to sail to Britain as part of the Empire Aircrew Training Scheme in April 1944. In 1945 Clifton was assigned to 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron which was stationed at RAF Spilsby in Lincolnshire and was a part of a number of operations that included bombing and diversions.
Clifton was involved in Operation Manna where food and medical supplies were dropped from an altitude of below 500 feet to the civilians below risking being shot down by retreating German forces. After VE day May 8 1945, Clifton flew shuttle flights to and from Europe in Operation Exodus that returned POW’s to Britain for the rest of the year. He would later remark that this was a difficult time, having to carry or help these emaciated men into the aircraft. He marvelled at their resilience.
Clifton sailed from England for Australia in December 1945 on the Aquitania.
He returned to Newcastle and his carpentry apprenticeship. Clifton married Lola Ranger in 1949 and they had 4 children together. He built their first home in Cardiff, Newcastle. In 1956 he became a Sales Representative for CSR Limited selling building materials and by 1959 the family moved to Wagga Wagga as Clifton was promoted to regional manager. In 1962 the family moved again this time to Sydney and eventually bought a house in early 1963 in Narraweena where Clifton resided until his death in 2025.
Cliff and Lola
Clifton was community minded and joined the local branch of the RSL Club in 1963. He helped establish a local Legacy Torchbearer Team to fundraise for war widows and their families. Because of his building background he was valuable to the DY RSL Club to help implement their expansion plans from the tin shed in 1963. Clifton was elected to the Board of Directors in 1987 and served the Club until his retirement in 2012 at the age of 87.
He and Lola Hall were married for 70 years and since 2009 instituted a “Family Muster” where the whole family (children, grandchildren and great grandchildren) gets together once a year to celebrate being a family.
Clifton lived a life of service. He worked hard, served the community and loved his family.
