Seat pack type parachute : Flight Lieutenant E S Hall, RAF

Seat-type parachute harness with white cotton webbing straps for the arms and legs leading to a four point central front harness lock located on a broad central chest belt which also contains the ripcord and 'D' ring. The lock is marked with an arrow and the words 'TURN TO UNLOCK/PRESS TO RELEASE'. The side of the lock is stamped '9661'. The straps are attached by press studs to the padded back of the harness, and are adjustable by metal slides at the shoulders. The outside back of the harness is marked in black ink with a crown and the letters 'A. M.' The parachute is attached by webbing loops, and is secured by a series of six elastic straps. The parachute is folded and enclosed by four khaki canvas flaps which are secured at the central bottom of the pack by the wire of the ripcord. The protective panel over this fastening is marked 'F/LT HALL' in ink, and is secured by three snap fasteners. A white cotton panel sewn to the canvas cover is stamped '2462 F/LT HALL E.S.'

Worn by 403013 Flight Lieutenant Edward Smith (Ted) Hall. He was born in Sydney in March 1918 and enlisted in the RAAF on 13 November 1940. He served out of the United Kingdom flying Spitfires with 129 Squadron, RAF and was shot down twice. The second incident occured 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. Hall later joined 452 Squadron, RAAF based in Darwin. He was discharged on 3 November 1944 from 105 Fighter Control Unit.