Alfred Hallett

Who was Alfred Hallett?

Alfred W. Hallett was an English artist.

He wanted to study art from the time he was young but his parents were members of the Exclusive Bretheren sect and his mother faced excommunication for encouraging him. He studied in London, and exhibited in two Summer Exhibitions in 1937 and 1939 at the Royal Academy, London, although he never became a Royal Academician. In 1938, he was invited to India to paint by the Kashmiri owner of Nedou's Hotel in Srinigar.

He offered his services to the British Government during World War II, but refused to take up arms. He was given a job as a censor, and rose to the position of Chief Censor in the Punjab.

He became the manager of sales and design after the war for the New Egerton Woollen Mills in Dhariwal, Punjab, which produced woollen worsted and hosiery of all kinds. He was close friends with the accountant, Mr. Kim Butterworth and his wife Jean.

After the end of the war, Alfred decided to stay in India. After the Partition of India in 1947 he and the Butterworth family frequently went on camping trips together in the mountains during the summers.