Dr Hall

In the novel The Secret Adversary, Dr Hall is a doctor who runs a private nursing home in Bournemouth. Julius Hersheimmer and Sir James Peel Edgerton met Dr Hall believing that he might give a lead on the whereabouts of Jane Finn whom they were searching for. Dr Hall told them that indeed one Mrs Vandemeyer had committed to his care her niece, Janet Vandemeyer. This was in June or July 1915, shortly after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. According to Mrs Vandemeyer, Janet had been with her on board the ship and had suffered a severe shock in consequence.

According to Dr Hall, his patient was perfectly sane but had suffered a severe memory loss and had no memory of any events prior to 7 May 1915, the day of the sinking. Dr Hall knew of a specialist in Paris who could treat this, but Mrs Vandemeyer opposed it so he went along with her wishes.

While all this raised Julius Hersheimer's hopes that he had at last come close to finding "Jane Finn", Dr Hall had yet one last bombshell to deliver at the end of the interview: his patient left the clinic just a short while ago in the company of Nurse Edith and he does not know where she is.