Percival Hall-Thompson

Admiral Percival Henry Hall-Thompson (5 May 1874 – 6 July 1950) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be First Naval Member & Chief of the Australian Naval Staff.

Early life
Born the son of Henry Hall Thompson and his wife, Agnes Spooner, Hall-Thompson was educated at a private school. He joined HMS Britannia as a midshipman in 1887.

Naval service
He was Inspector of War-like Stores at Garden Island in Australia in 1901 before serving in World War I initially as Commanding Officer of HMS Philomel which had been transferred to the New Zealand Navy. He acted as naval advisor to the New Zealand Government taking part in the capture of German Samoa in September 1914 and escorting troops from Australia and New Zealand to Egypt in October 1914. He spent several years in the Persian Gulf before returning to New Zealand where he advised on minesweeping operations. In 1920 he was given command of the battleship HMS Erin. He became Aide-de-Camp to the King in 1922. He was appointed First Naval Member & Chief of the Australian Naval Staff with effect from January 1924 and went on to command the 3rd Battle Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet from 1927 and the Reserve Fleet from 1929 before retiring in 1932.

Later life
Hall-Thompson retired from the Royal Navy in 1932 with the rank of admiral. He lived in Kent until his death in 1950. He was survived by his wife, Helen Sidney Deacon, who he had married in 1899. The couple had four children, including a son, Derrick, who also was a career officer in the Royal Navy, ending his career as a rear admiral.