Signalling lamp worn on Mae West life preserver: Flight Lieutenant Edward Smith Hall, 129 Squadron, RAF

RAF distress signalling lamp worn on the Mae West life preserver. The lamp consists of two cylinders joined by two insulated blue wires. One cylinder, made solely of blue painted metal, has a screw top and is designed to hold batteries. The other is made of wood with a metal cap and holds a lamp and switch. This cylinder is weighted at the bottom to ensure it floats in an upright position. Both cylinders have raised Air Ministry markings and crowns. The letters 'G.E.C.' appear on the base of the metal cylinder and the cap of the light. The weighted base of the light also has patent details.

Associated with the service of 403013 Flight Lieutenant Edward Smith Hall. Hall enlisted in the RAAF on 13 November 1940 aged 22. Remustered as aircrew, Hall attended Empire Air Training Scheme instruction in Canada before arriving in the United Kingdom. Attached to 129 RAF 'Mysore' Squadron, Hall flew 120 operational sorties in Supermarine Spitfires. Hall was shot down twice; once in April 1942, and again during a fighter sweep over Berck-Ambleteuse on 5 May 1942. After being hit by flak, smoke filled his cockpit and he was unable to see. Hall attempted to glide back over the English coast, with some help from the aircraft's engine. He was guided back to England by his second in command who informed him when he had crossed the coast and it was safe to bail out. He bailed out near Wilmington in Sussex. His parachute became entangled in high tension electrical wires and he encountered some difficulty in persuading the local farmers of his status as an Allied pilot.

Returning to Australia for duty in late September 1942, Hall was attached to 452 Squadron in Darwin from 21 January to 18 July 1943, flying 34 operational sorties. Hall completed his war service at 105 Fighter Control Unit, a unit responsible for all air operations from Broome to Cape York and controlled defensive activity from airstrips in the Northern Territory and northwest Western Australia. Edward Smith Hall was discharged on 3 November 1944.