Roll of Honor
Incident
Acting Sergeant Hall left his police station in Newbiggin-By-The-Sea shortly after 6:00pm on the evening of Friday 20th December 1867 to undertake his usual nightly rounds.
The local coastguard spoke to him in front of the Wesleyan Chapel between midnight and 1:00am on Saturday morning but William was never again seen alive.
When William failed to return to his station on time, a local Constable and Sergeant set out to locate him but despite an extensive search they were unable to do so.
Later that day a fisherman and pitman found the officer’s body on the beach near Lynemouth, about two miles north of Newbiggin-By-The-Sea, but did not recognise him due to serious injuries to William’s face. His left eye was missing, having seemingly been gouged out, and there was significant discolouration around his right eye.
Although most of his possessions were found with him, William’s fob watch pocket was turned inside-out and the watch was missing. His hat was also missing but was later found, still dry, near the Wesleyan Chapel.
Despite numerous enquiries no conclusive evidence to the cause of William’s death was ever found though it was strongly suspected that he had been murdered and thrown into the sea by two prize-fighters who were in the town at the time and who left before the officer’s body was found.
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- April 8, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
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Acting Sergeant Hall served with the Northumberland County Constabulary.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Acting Sergeant William Hall is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In ENG, 1,349 of 2,827 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 47.7% of this state's fallen. That is 16.7 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Northumberland County Constabulary, 11 of 23 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 47.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Hall's cause is highlighted.
How William Hall Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Hall is highlighted in Dec.
Others Who Wore This Badge
22 officers from Northumberland County Constabulary are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
