Francis Richard Hall was born in Brisbane on 25 November 1917, child of Alfred John Hall and Mary Frances (nee Byrne). Francis Hall was a member of a noted Brisbane architectural family, grandson of Francis Richard Hall (1862-1934), and great grandson of John Hall (1835-1883). He was registered as an architect in Queensland and New South Wales in 1944 and in the United Kingdom in 1962. He studied abroad in Europe and England and between 1949 and 1978 he was employed by the Queensland Works Department working on the restoration and preservation of public buildings of historical significance. He retired to England in 1978 where he was architectural consultant to Queensland House, London.