part in the actions at Chagru and Dargai, in the capture of the

Sampagha and Arhanga passes and in the reconnaissance of the Saran Sar,

where he was severely wounded on 9 Nov. 1897, and received the Tirah

Medal with two clasps. He afterwards joined the 2nd Battn. of his regt.

in India, and in Nov. 1914, sailed with the Poona Brigade, of which

the 2nd Dorsets formed part, for the Persian Gulf. He was killed in

action at Sahil, near Basra on the Shat-el-Arab, on the 17th of that

month, and was buried at Sahil. Major Mercer was a qualified musketry

instructor and a first-class interpreter of Hindustani. He _m._ at

Ugley, Essex, 14 Aug. 1913, Margaret Edith, dau. of William Augustus

Tennant, of Orford House, Ugley, and had a dau., Ariel Margaret,

_b._ posthumous, 30 Nov. 1914.

[Illustration: =Archibald Ariel Mercer.=]

=MERCER, EDWARD ALLAN=, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 14665 (Ports.),

H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=MERCER, ERIC CAMERON=, 2nd Lieut., Indian Army, attd. 2nd Battn.

Lancashire Fusiliers, 5th surviving _s._ of Col. Charles Archibald

Mercer, of Belgrave House, Dover, Indian Army (ret.), late 4th Gurkha

Rifles, by his wife, Helen E., eldest dau. of the late Major-Gen. J.

S. Rawlins, Indian Army, formerly 1st Gurkha L.I.; _b._ Bakloh,

Punjab, India, 17 Nov. 1894; educ. Junior School, Westward Ho, co.

Devon, Dover College, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst;

gazetted 2nd Lieut. Indian Army, unattd. List, 15 Aug. 1914, and attd.

to the 2nd Battn. Lancashire Fusiliers; went to France, 8 Sept. 1914,

and was killed in action at Meteren, near Bailleul, 13 Oct. 1914;

_unm._ He was buried in a field there, belonging to M. Cokelaere.

At Dover College, he was in the football XV, 1910–11–12, and the hockey

XI, 1911–12–13, and at Sandhurst he was in the 2nd football XV, 1913–14.

[Illustration: =Eric Cameron Mercer.=]

=MERCER, GEORGE EDWARD=, Private, No. 8237, 2nd Battn. Seaforth

Highlanders, _s._ of Thomas Mercer; enlisted in the Seaforths;

took part in the Somaliland Expedition 1902–4 (medal); was afterwards

employed on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway at Bolton Road Goods

Station; was called up with the Reserve on the outbreak of war in Aug.

1914; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc., and died

25 April, 1915, of wounds received in action. He _m._ St. Luke’s

Church, Blackburn, 5 Sept. 1912 (--), dau. of (--) Gibson, and had a

son, Harold, _b._ 2 Oct. 1913.

=MERCER, WALLER CARPENTER=, Rifleman, No. 3246, 16th (Queen’s

Westminster Rifles) Battn. The London Regt. (T.F.), _s._ of Peter

Brit Mercer (died 4 Aug. 1894), by his wife, Mary Jane (“Merton,”

Plympton Avenue, Brondesbury, N.W.), dau. of Thomas Hooper; _b._

London, 5 Oct. 1885; educ. Philological School, Marylebone, N.W.;

enlisted on the outbreak of war, served with his regt. in France and

Flanders, and was killed in action, being shot through the head while

on sentry duty in the trenches, at Houplines, 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 shot in his head.” At St. Paul’s he took a leading