Peter Hall

Who was Peter Hall?

Flight Lieutenant Peter Francis Locker Hall, DFC & Bar was a New Zealand flying ace during World War II. He had become infatuated with flight in 1928, when his father bought him a plane ride with Australian aviation pioneer Charles Kingsford Smith.

Hall joined RNZAF No. 488 Squadron in 1943, and along with his RAF navigator R. D. Marriott, is credited with eight confirmed kills being five Junkers 88s, a Messerschmitt Me 410, and two Dornier 217s. After the war, he chose to stay in England with his wife Mary, living in Cumbria, and became an aircraft salesman for de Havilland. Hall regularly returned to New Zealand He left de Havilland in 1972 and established an award-winning woodcraft and furniture business. He enjoyed such a good reputation that at one point he was commissioned to create bowls for Diana, Princess of Wales.

On 22 May 2010, a few days after turning 88, Peter Hall died. His wife had died in 2009. They were survived by three children.