Halle , William , 1912-1998 , artist

William Halle was born in Hastings in 1912, and lived there with his mother and sister, Annette. His father left when he was a child. From the 1960s, possibly earlier, he lived at 7a Mexfield Road, Wandsworth and also had an art studio in Battersea. He worked as an artist and at the Telephone Exchange, possibly because his paintings were not successful enough for him to be an artist full-time. He also wrote novels, and made several attempts to get them published. Also living in 7a Mexfield Road were Julia and Norman McLachlan, referred to by Halle Norman as Mac. Mac was a great friend of Halle's until Mac's death in 1984, which Halle mourned deeply. Halle moved to Olive Haines Lodge in 1990 and died in February 1998. The majority of Halle's friendships were with other men, with whom he often maintained life long friendships, he also records sexual relationships with various men right up until his death. Despite his sister living in South Africa, they clearly remained very close, and he often worried about her and tried to regularly send her money.