Frank Hall - the baptismal names, Graham Francis, were only acknowledged in official documents - was a splendid character, an excellent doctor, a lovable person and a loyal friend. He was born in Dunedin in 1914, son of an ear nose and throat surgeon. He received his secondary education from the Christian Brothers in his home city and his first university degree in the arts faculty of the University of Otago. His classical education was reflected in his communication skills, for he was ever a gifted wordsman in correspondence and in written or spoken address.

After obtaining his MA in French, Frank turned his attention to medicine and graduated again from Otago in 1941. There followed three years with the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Middle East and Italy where he gave freely of himself, reached the rank of a major an was mentioned in despatches. Following war service he joined the medical unit in Dunedin until he undertook further postgraduate study in London and Edinburgh before returning to Wellington to become a part time consultant at Wellington Hospital and at the Home of Compassion. In the latter post he first assisted and later succeeded Sir Charles Burns as principal physician. He also served for a number of years as assistant director of medical services at Army Headquarters.

While Frank was very much a general physician, his special interests were cardiology, hypertension and diabetes. He was himself diabetic, although few knew it. In the wards he was conscientious and practical with patients, courteous and considerate with staff and a willing teacher. He considered it his pleasure and duty to have his registrar and house-physician to his home but his kindness extended beyond hospitality to his immediate associates. He had a phenomenal knowledge of air line schedules and was regularly at airports to meet, ferry or farewell friends or visitors, whether they were in his charge or not. He was constantly appreciative of the success of others and found it hard to recognise the contributions he himself made to any cause.

Advancing the aims of the College was a field of dedicated endeavour for Frank throughout his medical life in Wellington. He was first the regional representative on what was then the dominion committee, next its secretary, later chairman and member of council and finally the vice-president for New Zealand. He played a fundamental part in establishing a stable headquarters and permanent secretariat, organised examiners and examinations, wrote tirelessly to aspiring members, sat on most committees, conjoint committees and sub-committees and conducted copious correspondence with College Headquarters in Sydney, where he was as well known as he was in New Zealand. Frank's work for the College was undoubtedly a major factor in the award of the CBE made to him in 1973.

After his years of service to Wellington Hospital, the College and the community as a consultant physician, Frank became the first dean of the Wellington School of Medicine in 1971. The post would have been demanding for any occupant but weighed heavily on Frank's conscientious nature. Planning, travelling and appointing the best staff were challenges which he met well as he established solidly based co-operation between the medical school in Dunedin and the clinical school in Wellington. Illness obliged him to retire from his clinical school post in 1975 at which stage he accepted appointment as geriatrician to the hospital for the chronically sick and elderly at Silverstream. Soon after his final retirement in 1978 he suffered a second stroke and died.

In his earlier days Frank had a delightful, puckish turn of phrase and sense of humour, while for formal composition he was always an accomplished essayist. He had a real appreciation of art, music and literature, which the demands of his professional life made it difficult for him to pursue. He was a man of deep Christian faith, reflected in his regular worship, which included daily Mass whenever possible; in his mode of life and in his participation in the activities of the Guild of Catholic Doctors, of which he became secretary when the Guild was established in 1954. That he was a man of hope as well as faith was evident from the way in which he tried always to honour multiple commitments, including those for which scheduling had made this apparently impossible.

Throughout his professional life Frank Hall was a dedicated doctor, a loyal colleague and a trusted friend. He had a courtesy and refinement which might have been affected in some but were innate in him. In 1949 Frank married Winifred McQuiken, when she was headmistress of a private school for girls in Dunedin. Winifred's later post as lecturer in English at Victoria University in Wellington enabled her to share in depth Frank's feeling for the fine and the good. To the deep regret of both, they had no children.