William Amos Hallett was born on 2nd March 1867 in Pimlico, Middlesex. The oldest of six children, his parents were Charles and Rosa Hallett. Charles was a police inspector and, by the time of the 1871 census, the family has moved to Sheerness in Kent, where he worked.

In the summer of 1893, William married Emily Nokes. By this point he had been working for the Royal Navy for four years, initially as a Shipwright, then as a Leading Shipwright. His service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Based out of HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, by June 1900 William had served on HMS Urgent, HMS Sphinx. Most of his time, however, had been spent between his Chatham base and its Sheerness counterpart, HMS Wildfire.

In November 1901 William was promoted to the rank of Carpenter. Over the next decade he served on eight vessels, and his service record for that time give an insight into his character. He was regularly commended for his hard-working and zealous nature: “[he] gets through more work in his time than any carpenter I’ve been shipmates with… He is excellent in every way.” His ability did not go unnoticed, another report noting his “special knowledge [in] geometrical drawing.”

In the summer of 1910, his superior, Captain Morgan, noted that Carpenter Hallett “worked well and zealously and has got a good deal of work done under somewhat difficult circumstances and with a small staff…” He was recommended for advancement, and it seemed that a promotion was in the offing.

By the time war broke out, William was a Commissioned Shipwright. Details of his service are harder to trace, but by the end of 1916, he was assigned to the battleship HMS Commonwealth. The next record notes his passing:

HALLETT – On 17th February, at RN Hospital, Chatham, Chief Carpenter RN William Amos Hallett, aged 49 years, eldest son of the late Mr Charles Hallett, of Sheerness.

[Sheerness Guardian and East Kent Advertiser: Saturday 24th February 1917]

There is no further information about William Amos Hallett’s passing. He was laid to rest in the military section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from HMS Pembroke, the dockyard he had for so long called home.

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