Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Bookuplines, near Armentières, 9 April, 1915. He was buried in the Military Cemetery there; _unm._ [Illustration: =Waller Carpenter Mercer.=] =MERCHANT, WILLIAM=, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 2559), 207436, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914. =MERRETT, ALBERT JOHN=, A.B. 236732, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914. =MERRETT, JOSEPH WILLIAM=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 3281), S.S. 101000, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914. =MERRICK, CHARLES=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4529), S.S. 103702, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914. =MERRILEES, STUART=, Private, No. 10228, Northumberland Fusiliers, 4th _s._ of James Merrilees, of 42, Coomassie Road, Crofton, Blyth, Plasterer, by his wife, Mary, dau. of James Gilroy; _b._ Blyth, co. Northumberland, 6 Aug. 1897; educ. there; enlisted 22 Sept. 1914; went to France, 19 Sept. 1915, and was killed in action there, 11 Feb. 1916, being shot by a sniper while working in a triangle trench; _unm._ His brother, William, was killed, 15 Feb. 1915. [Illustration: =Stuart Merrilees.=] =MERRILEES, WILLIAM=, Private, No. 3086, 2nd Battn. Northumberland Fusiliers, 3rd _s._ of James Merrilees, of 42, Coomassie Road, Crofton, Blyth, Plasterer, by his wife Mary, dau. of James Gilroy; _b._ Blyth, co. Northumberland, 14 Feb. 1893; educ. Wright Street School there; enlisted in the Northumberland Fusiliers in 1910; went to France 18 Jan. 1915, and was killed in action, 16 Feb. 1915, after delivering a message; _unm._ Capt. O. B. Foster, commanding C Coy., wrote: "He had volunteered to come back from the trenches in broad daylight under a heavy fire to take back a message to battn. headquarters, that ammunition was urgently required. He accomplished this dangerous duty successfully, being slightly wounded in the arm on the way. While at battn. headquarters where his wound had been attended to by the doctor, a shell struck the building in which he was, a fragment of it hit him on the head, killing him instantly. Had he lived he would have probably been awarded the medal for Distinguished Conduct in the Field." And again, after saying that a "strong recommendation" had been forwarded to the authorities, giving full particulars of his brave act, added: "He certainly well deserved it. Since I wrote I found he took a further message by means of which our artillery, which had been firing in a wrong direction, was directed at the proper place; this was the means of saving a number of our men's lives. In any other war but this he would certainly have gained a V.C., but, as you can imagine, a terribly high standard of courage is required to win anything now. We had a very hard time with our company, but lately things have been a little easier. As we are not now in the same district, I can give you the following information: Your son was buried by a farmhouse 2½ miles south of Ypres; the farm is south of the Ypres-Comines Canal, and is 1,200 yards south-east of Chateau Langrof. This may enable it to be traced after the war. A cross was erected over it." [Illustration: =William Merrilees.=] =MERRIMAN, GORDON=, Volunteer, Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve, yr. _s._ of Thomas Mark Merriman, of 96, Finchley Road, N.W., and 3, Mitre Court, Temple, E.C., Solicitor, by his wife, Ellen Charlotte, dau. of Matthew Marshall; _b._ Hampstead, N.W., 5 Feb. 1885; educ. St. Andrews, Eastbourne, Uppingham, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge; and was a Planter in Nyasaland, where he owned the Nanglukutichi Estate, near Blantyre. He was a member of the Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve, serving with the Nyasaland Field Force, and was in charge of a Maxim gun which he was working when wounded in an encounter with the Germans at Karonga, and died 9 Sept. 1914; _unm._ He was buried at Karonga, N.W. of Lake Nyasa. He was mentioned by the Governor of Nyasaland in his Despatch of 1 Nov. 1915 [London Gazette, 3 Aug. 1916], for gallant and distinguished service in the field "while working Maxim guns under heavy fire with coolness and effect." [Illustration: =Gordon Merriman.=] =MERRITT, CECIL MACK=, Capt., 16th Battn. (Canadian Scottish, 72nd Seaforth Highlanders), Canadian Expeditionary Force, last surviving _s._ of Lieut.-Col. William Ingersoll Merritt, of 6, Sumner Place, South Kensington, London, late 30th (East Lancashire) and 4th Manchester Regts., by his wife, Mary Beatrice, 3rd dau. of Major-Gen. Frank Adams, C.B., and granddau. of Henry Cadwallader Adams, of Anstey Hall, co. Warwick, J.P., D.L.; _b._ St. Catharine's, Ontario, Canada, 6 Jan. 1877; educ. St. Paul's School, London; went to Canada in 1895, and joined the Royal Grenadier (Militia) Regt. in 1896. He was one of the few who went into Dawson in the rush of '98 over the Edmonton trail, the journey taking him two years. After leaving the Yukon he returned to England and was for a short time on the London Stock Exchange. He went to Vancouver in 1904, and when the 72nd Regt. Seaforth Highlanders of Canada was formed in Nov. 1910, he was appointed one of its senior Capts. He received his Majority in that Regt. 13 Oct. 1914. He was on Major-Gen. Sir Sam Hughes's Staff during his visit to the Imperial Army manœuvres in 1912, and on the outbreak of war at once volunteered for Imperial service, and was given command of a coy. in the 16th Battn. "Canadian Scottish," 1st Canadian Division. He went with them to France in Feb. 1915, and was present at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. On 22 April, 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres he was leading his coy. in the charge made by the Canadian Scottish near St. Julien, to check the first rush of the Germans after their gas attack, when he was wounded in the leg. He refused to leave his men, and with them occupied the German trenches. Next morning he was killed while encouraging his men during a counter-attack. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French's Despatch of 31 May, 1915, for gallant and distinguished service in the field. His commanding officer, Col. R. E. Edwards Leckey, wrote: "Cecil Merritt was one of the finest officers I ever knew. He was wounded in the charge, but not severely, and still continued to lead his men on. He remained in the trenches we had captured, and when a counter-attack was threatened he got up to shoot over the parapet with his revolver. It was then he received his fatal wound. No one could have been braver and no one could have led his men better than he did. His name has been submitted for the Military Cross"; and brother officers speak of his "personal bravery and spirit of dash and tenacity," and of the admiration which his men had for him; and a Private wrote: "He was wounded twice but would not expose his men to be carried back to the dressing station, and after some hours in the captured trenches heard there was a counter-charge from the Germans, and it was then he received the fatal |