Rosemary Hall was born on 22nd April 1925 in Aberdeen. She spent her early life in Montrose where her father and uncle ran the family salmon fishing business. Hall began her schooling in Montrose. However, the outbreak of the war caused interruption and her school was evacuated to Speyside. She began her working life as a PA to a partner in a firm of accountants in Edinburgh. Although Hall gave up her job after marriage, she did not stop working; she was against nuclear power in all forms and campaigned against the building of Torness Nuclear Power station. Hall joined the Scottish National party in 1965 and quickly rose through the ranks eventually becoming national organising secretary. Hall was lucky enough to board the famous Tartan Express to commemorate Winnie Ewing winning the Hamilton seat at Westminster in 1967. Hall also served as National Secretary for the SNP for a short time. Aside from Hall’s political beliefs, she was strongly religious; she and her husband were strong members of the congregations of several parishes as well as being strong members within their communities. Hall also served the church at both the presbytery and the national level, taking on the role of moderator for a year. She was also a strong supporter of many charities including Christian Aid, Amnesty International as well as many children’s and animal charities. She died in 2010.

The material consists largely of material detailing Hall’s political career. However, there are also some of her personal papers present. The papers cover her long career with the Scottish National Party and the various committees she was involved in. As National secretary of the party a large portion of the material consists of minutes and notes taken at various meetings including the Scottish National Assembly as well as the Transition to Independence Group. A section of the material also covers the opening of the new Scottish Parliament in 1999.