William Henry Hall

Who was William Henry Hall?

Captain William Henry Hall was the first Director of Naval Intelligence of the Royal Navy.

Hall was thought of highly by John A. Fisher, who had requested him to act as Commander in HMS Inflexible, which Fisher was to captain and which was under construction at the time. Hall had to decline the offer for private reasons. He was appointed to the Foreign Intelligence Committee in 1882, and became Director of Naval Intelligence in 1887 when the Naval Intelligence Department was formed.

His son, William Reginald Hall, also became Director of Naval intelligence in 1914.