Born into an influential Dutch family, Walraven van Hall initially studied to become an officer in the merchant marine, but after having worked for some years as third mate he was rejected because of his eyesight.

His brother, future Mayor of Amsterdam Gijs van Hall, who already worked at a bank, helped him get a job with a Wall Street firm.

Because of his banking experience, Walraven van Hall was able to provide funding with the help of guarantees by the Dutch government in London.

This was done behind the back of Rost van Tonningen, president of the bank and a notorious member of the Dutch Nazi party National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB).

In 1944, Walraven was the leader of the NSF (National Support Fund); he was also the coordinator of the Kern ("Nucleus") and the Driehoek ("Triangle"), a cooperation of various Dutch resistance groups.

[6] His personal courier was Hanneke Ippisch, author of the book Sky: a True Story of Courage during World War II.

[10] Van Hall was subsequently executed in Haarlem alongside seven other resistance members as revenge for the death of a high-ranking police officer.