F. L. Hastings-Medhurst.
MEDLAND, WILLIAM HARRY WILSON, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4864), S.S. 104067, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
MEEHAN, FRANCIS JAMES, Private, No. 981, 12th Battn. (15th North Auckland Infantry Regt.) New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 2nd s. of Thomas Meehan, of Queen Street, Feilding, New Zealand, Carrier, formerly of Waterford, Ireland, by his wife, Annie, dau. of the late Bernard Maynes, of Terraquin, Omagh, co. Tyrone, Farmer; b. Feilding, 30 Sept. 1888; educ. at the State School there; was employed for some years at the firm of Grey & Menzies, Auckland. After the outbreak of war, enlisted 23 Aug. 1914; was severely wounded in action at the Dardanelles, 29 April, 1915, and died in the 17th General Hospital at Alexandria 5 May following; unm. Writing to his mother the Rev. J. McMenamin, R.C. Chaplain, N.Z.F., said: “Frank arrived here fit and well with his regt. on Sunday, 25 April, and carried himself bravely through the first four days’ terrible fighting. Then, on Thursday, 29 April, he was stooping down in a trench when a bullet entered his head. He was rendered unconscious mercifully.... Everything possible was done for him, and he was taken away to hospital in Alexandria without any delay.” He was buried at the Chatby Military Cemetery [Grave No. 235).
Francis James Meehan.
MEEHAN, WILLIAM, C.E.R.A., 124820, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
MEEKER, CHARLES EDWARD, Ordinary Seaman, J. 20933, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
MEGAW, WILLIAM CECIL KENNEDY, M.C., Capt., 1st Battn. Norfolk Regt., yr. s. of Kennedy Megaw, of 18, Chesham Road, Brighton, by his wife, Mary Augusta, dau. of (—) Zouche; b. Farnborough, co. Kent, 8 May, 1885; educ. Wellington College, and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the Norfolk Regt., 16 Aug. 1905; promoted Lieut. 20 March, 1908, and Capt. 26 March, 1913; served as Adjutant of his regt. from 1910–13; went to France, Aug. 1914, and was killed in action near Ypres, 31 March, 1915; being buried by the ramparts of Ypres. He served as acting Adjutant from the Battle of Mons till the time of his death, and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry [London Gazette, 18 Feb. 1915]; and twice mentioned in Sir John French’s Despatches [London Gazette, 17 Feb. and 22 June, 1915]. Capt. Megaw m. at St. Mark’s Church, South Farnborough, 1 Oct. 1913, Alice May (Rhudlan, West Hove, near Brighton), elder dau. of Col. John Samuel Gaussen, of Hollymouth, South Farnborough, co. Hants; s.p.
William C. K. Megaw.
MEHEUX, GEORGE THOMAS SHELTON, Leading Seaman (R.F.R.. B. 9701), 233279, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
MEIKLEJOHN, KENNETH FORBES, Lieut., 1st Battn. Cameron Highlanders, 2nd s. of Lieut.-Col. John Forbes Meiklejohn. of 147, Victoria Street S.W., late R.H.A., by his wife, Edith Mary, dau. of Thomas Dives, and grandson of the late Rev. Robert Meiklejohn, of Strathdon, Aberdeenshire; b. at Woolwich, 18 June, 1885; educ. Rugby and passed 3rd into the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 1st Cameron Highlanders, 27 Feb. 1904, and promoted Lieut. 13 Sept. 1909; was appointed Adjutant, 13 March, 1913; went to France with the Expeditionary Force in Aug. 1914; served through the retreat from Mons and the Battle of the Marne, and was killed in action at the Battle of the Aisne, 25 Sept. 1914. On that day what was left of the 1st Camerons—they had lost 17 officers and 500 men in the action of the 14th—had moved up to relieve the 1st Black Watch in the trenches just west of the village of Beaulne, and the battn. headquarters occupied one of the caves in the chalk of the plateau. During the morning a German shell fell on the top of the cave and buried the inmates, amongst whom was Lieut. Meiklejohn, and five officers and some 30 men were subsequently found dead, including Capt. D. N. Miers, then temporarily in command of the battn., Capt. A. G. Cameron, of Lochiel, Capt. Napier Cameron, and Lieut. Meiklejohn, who was buried in the grounds of the Chateau of Verneuille. Lieut. Meiklejohn had qualified as first class interpreter in both Russian and French. He m. at Edinburgh, 14 April, 1914, Sybil Maud, only dau. of John Charles Stewart, of Kinlochmoidart and Glenmoidart, co. Inverness, J.P., and had a son, Kenneth Mathew, b. posthumous, 14 Jan. 1915.
Kenneth F. Meiklejohn.
MELIA, EDWARD, Corpl., No. 705, 15th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, s. of P. Melia, of Liverpool; served in Egypt and at the Dardanelles; killed in action, 2 May, 1915.
MELLETT, MARTIN, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4459), S.S. 103473, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
MELLISH, CHARLES HERBERT, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 11127, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
MELSON, JOHN RAITHBY, L.-Corpl., No. 11754, 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of Tom Melson, of 4, Whostenholme Place, off Powell Street, Sheffield, by his wife, Jemima, dau. of John Richardson; b. Sheffield, 15 Aug. 1889; educ. St. John’s National School, there; was a Rigger by trade; enlisted soon after the outbreak of war, 7 Sept. 1914; went to France, 21 Jan. 1915, and died in No. 10 Stationary Hospital, St. Omer, 5 Aug. 1915, of wounds received in action, 11 July, and was buried in the French Souvenir Cemetery at St. Omer; unm.
John Raithby Melson.
MELSON, ROBERT, Private, No. 11564, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, yr. s. of Tom Melson, of 4, Whostenholme Place, Powell Street, Sheffield, by his wife, Jemima, dau. of John Richardson; b. Sheffield, co. York. 21 Jan. 1894; educ. St. John’s National School, Sheffield; was a Steel Warehouseman; enlisted 6 Sept. 1914; went to the Front, 21 Jan. 1915, and was killed in action at the Battle of Cuinchy, 7 Feb. following, and buried in Bethune Churchyard. Belgium; unm. He was the younger of the two brothers, but the first to be killed.
Robert Melson.
MELVILLE, WILLIAM, Private, No 14481, King’s Coy., 1st Battn. Grenadier Guards, s. of Hugh Melville, of Portgower, Helmsdale, co. Sutherland, by his wife, Betsy, dau. of James Morrison, of Scourie; b. Portgower afsd., 15 Oct. 1886; educ. Portgower School; was a member of the Edinburgh City Police, and later of the Metropolitan Police; joined the Grenadier Guards in Sept. 1909; was selected as one of the special guards at the Coronation of King George; serving three years with the Colours, he was placed on the Reserve for 10 years, and emigrated to Canada in 1912, where he joined the Winnipeg Police, being rapidly promoted to the rank of detective. On the outbreak of the European War he was called to rejoin his regiment; left for England, 17 Aug. 1914; went to France, 8 Sept.; took part in the severe fighting till 12 Jan. 1915, when he got entangled in barbed wire around a German trench, and was so wounded that he was removed to hospital; rejoined his regt. 5 March, and died in No. 7 Casualty Clearing Station, 13 March. 1915. from wounds received in action the previous day at the battle of Neuve Chapelle; unm. Buried in Merville Cemetery. A brass tablet to his memory, subscribed for by his comrades, was placed in the Central Police Station at Winnipeg.
William Melville.
MEMBREY, EDWARD JOHN, S.S.A., M. 7318, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
MERCER, ARCHIBALD ARIEL, Major, 2nd Battn. Dorset Regt., 2nd s. of the late Charles Mercer, of Lansdowne Lodge, Weymouth, by his wife, Grace Ewart (Weymouth), dau. of Edward Clark; b. Uxbridge, 24 Feb. 1875; educ. Marlborough and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 1st Battn. Dorset Regt. then stationed at Wellington, Madras, 16 March, 1895; and promoted Lieut. 12 July, 1897; Capt. 19 Nov. 1901, and Major 19 Nov. 1913. He served with the 1st Dorsets in the Tirah Campaign of 1896–97, taking 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
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 part in the school life, being captain of the football XV. He was one of the first captains of the well-known Harlequin Rugby Football Club. He m. at Vancouver, B.C., 4 Dec. 1905, Sophie Almon, eldest dau. of the Hon. Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper, K.C.M.G., and had two sons and a dau.: Charles Cecil Ingersoll, b. 10 Nov. 1908; Francis William, b. 16 Aug. 1913; and Beatrice Ormonde, b. 14 Feb. 1907.
Cecil Mack Merritt.
MERRITT, HENRY, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 2400), 201016, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
MESSAGE, EDGAR, Private, No. 2479, 5th Battn. Royal Sussex Regt. (T.F.), s. of Herbert Message, of The Old School House, Rush Lake Green, Warbleton, Sussex, by his wife, Miriam, dau. of the late Thomas Rumery, of Warbleton; b. Rush Lake Green, 30 April, 1893; educ. Warbleton National School; enlisted 9 Sept. 1914; went to France, 21 Feb. 1915, and was killed in action at Richebourg, 9 May following, being shot through the head; unm. Buried in cemetery at Richebourg.
MESSAM, JOHN WILLIAM, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./16830, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
METCALFE, RICHARD, Master-at-Arms, 159487, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
METHUEN, WILLIAM, Private, No. 7902, 2nd Battn. Royal Scots, s. of William Methuen, of Edinburgh, late 78th Seaforth Highlanders, by his wife, Mary, dau. of William Hamilton; b. Stockbridge, Edinburgh, 23 Sept. 1878; educ. North Merchiston School; enlisted 21 Jan. 1901, and was killed in action in Belgium, 14 Dec. 1914. He m. at Edinburgh, 1906, Margaret (10, McLeod Street, Edinburgh), dau. of the late James Bathgate, of Edinburgh, and had four children: James, b. 11 April, 1914; Alison, b. 5 Nov. 1906; Mary, b. 16 Dec. 1907; and Agnes, b. 16 June, 1912.
MICKELS, THOMAS EDWARD, S.S.A., M. 2159, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
MIDDLETON, JOHN LIDDLE, Private No. 2731, 1/8th Battn. Durham Light Infantry (T.F.), yst. s. of Thomas Middleton, of 38, South Burns, Chester-le-Street, co. Durham, Brewery Mason, by his wife, Margaret, dau. of the late George Brown, of Washington, co. Durham; b. Chester-le-Street, 8 May, 1895; enlisted 12 Sept. 1914, following the outbreak of war; was wounded in the fighting at Ypres on 26 April, 1915, by a gunshot wound in the head, and taken prisoner, and is stated to have laid for 36 hours in a greenhouse without water or care. He died of his wounds at Ostneeuw Kerke, Belgium, two days after his twentieth birthday, 10 May, 1915; unm.
John Liddle Middleton.
MIDMER, HARRY GEORGE, A.B., No. S.S. 2026, Ch. R.F.R. B8844, R.N. eldest s. of George Midmer, of Mabbs Hill, Stonegate, Ticehurst, Roadman, by his wife, Emily, dau. of Henry Taylor, of Horsham; b. Stonegate, Ticehurst, 10 Oct. 1888; educ. there; joined the Navy, 29 July, 1907, and was lost in H.M.S. Cressy, when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914; unm.
MIELL, CHARLES FREDERICK, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 10220), 183675, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
MIGHALL, CECIL CHARLES NEWMAN, Sergt., No. 560, 16th (Queen’s Westminster Rifles) Battn. The London Regt. (T.F.), yst. s. of the late William Mignall, of East Grinstead, by his wife, Mary Ann (now wife of William Prodger, of 53, Brook Hill Road, Woolwich), dau. of Charles Newman, of Findon, near Worthing, Sussex; b. East Grinstead, co. Sussex, 3 Aug. 1890; educ. East Grinstead Council Schools, and entered the employ of Messrs. Pugh & Co., of 16, Buckingham Palace Road, as a Clerk in 1906; joined the Queen’s Westminster Rifles in 1908, became L.-Corpl., 1910; and, passing the examination, was promoted to Corp., 1911. On the outbreak of war, he volunteered for foreign service, was promoted Sergt.; went with his regt. to the Front, and was killed in action, in the trenches at Houplines, France, 7 Feb. 1915; unm. Letters from his Commanding Officer and others speak highly of his capabilities and great courage. Sergt. Mighall took part in the pageant held by the regt. at Chelsea in 1913, and he also held the Trollope Cup.
Cecil C. N. Mighall.
MILES, DAVID, Private, No. 1126, 2nd Battn. Royal Sussex Regt., eldest s. of David Miles, of Malt House, Llanblethian, Cowbridge, Quarry Labourer, by his wife, Angelina, dau. of Thomas Bond; b. Cadoxton Barry, co. Glamorgan, 15 Dec. 1897; educ. Denas Powis National School; enlisted, 4 Sept. 1914; went to France, 11 Jan., and was killed in action at Richebourg St. Vaast, 9 May, 1915. He was a great favourite in the regt. and his officers described him as a fearless and efficient soldier; unm.
David Miles.
MILEY, JOHN, Stoker, R.N.R., 804U, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
MILLAR, ARTHUR JAMES, Capt., 3rd, attd. 1st Battn. Royal Irish Fusiliers, 2nd s. of James Millar, of 87, Eglantine Avenue, Belfast, F.C.I.S., by his wife, Jane Isabella, dau. of William Hardie, of Edinburgh; b. Belfast, 10 Sept. 1890; educ. Methodist College and Queen’s University there, where he attended the medical course, and served for over three years in the O.T.C., from which he joined the Special Reserve of Officers, and was attd. as 2nd Lieut. to the 3rd Battn. Royal Irish Fusiliers, 25 May, 1912; promoted Lieut. 21 Nov. 1914, and Capt. 10 April, 1915; joined his regt. on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to France with a draft in Sept.; was in the trenches during the winter, 1914–15, and was killed in action near St. Julien, 25 April, 1915; unm. An officer wrote: “He met his soldier’s death gallantly leading his platoon forward against very heavy rifle and machine-gun fire—the way he led his platoon was splendid. Almost the last act under this fire was to crawl over and bandage a man of his platoon who had been wounded, and was certainly one of the most gallant things I have ever seen done. It was almost immediately after this that he was so very unfortunately killed. His name was sent forward prior to the 25th for his excellent work during the whole time he was out here, and has now been sent forward for his most gallant conduct on the 25th, and I only hope he will get the reward he so thoroughly deserves. He is buried with his men where he fell on the field between the villages of Fortuin and St. Julien, north-east of Ypres. His name will ever be remembered in the regt. and its glorious annals.”
Arthur James Millar.
MILLAR, JOHN JAMES, Ordinary Seaman, J. 25646 (Ports.), H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
MILLAR, JOHN TROTTER, Private, No. G 5023, 2nd Battn. Middlesex Regt., yr. s. of William Millar, of 107, Trinity Road, Edinburgh, formerly of St. Margaret’s, Musselburgh, and of 7, Gladstone Place, Stirling, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of John Trotter, of Stirling, Merchant; b. Stirling, 14 May, 1878; educ. Stirling High School; was a Head Cashier; enlisted, Sept. 1914; went to France, 4 Jan. 1915, and was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, between 10 and 14 March, 1915; unm.
John Trotter Millar.
MILLER, ALEXANDER, Private, No. 2564, 3rd Battn. Royal Scots (Lothian Regt.), s. of Margaret (32, Victoria Street, Dunbar), dau. of Peter Miller; b. Dunbar, 24 Dec. 1892; educ. Dunbar Burgh School; enlisted 13 July, 1914; went to France and was killed in the trenches in France on 21 Feb. 1915. He was an outworker before enlisting.
Alexander Miller.
MILLER, ARTHUR WILLIAM, Stoker, 1st Class, 289617, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
MILLER, EDWARD, Probationary 2nd Cook’s Mate, M. 7799, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
MILLER, ERNEST CHARLES WILLIAM, Private, No. 8959, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of William Henry Miller, of Framfield, Carter, by his wife, Sarah Jane (Wilmington, Polegate, Sussex), dau. of Joseph Wood; b. Framfield, co. Sussex, 6 Dec. 1893; educ. Wilmington, Sussex; enlisted, 10 Jan. 1911, and was reported missing after the fighting at Ypres, 2 Nov. 1914, and is now assumed to have been killed on that date.
MILLER, ERNEST CYRIL, Capt., 3rd (Reserve), attd. 1st Battn. Loyal North Lancashire Regt., 3rd s. of the late William Pitt Miller, of Merlewood, Grange-over-Sands, Lancashire, and of Thistleton, Kirkham, Lancashire, by his wife, Emilie Mary (Merlewood, Grange-over-Sands); b. Grange-over-Sands afsd., 13 June, 1878; educ. Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 3rd Royal Lancashire Militia (now the 3rd Special Reserve Battn. Loyal North Lancashires), 1902; promoted Lieut. July, 1905, and Capt. 2 June, 1906. On the abolition of the Militia, he was transferred to the Special Reserve of Officers. He was called up to his Regt. on the outbreak of war, and was attd. to the 1st Battn.; went to France, 20 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action near Pilken, in Flanders, during the First Battle of Ypres, 23 Oct. 1914. He was buried near a farm between Pilken and Bixschoote. Capt. Miller m. at Copdock, Suffolk, 5 Nov. 1913, Dulcie Katharine, yst. dau. of Arthur Montague Bernard, of Copdock, Ipswich; s.p.
Ernest Cyril Miller.
MILLER, GODFREY LYALL, 2nd Lieut., Royal Engineers, elder s. of Sir John Ontario Miller, of Rowley Lodge, Arkley, Herts, K.C.S.I., late Indian Civil Service, by his wife, Mary Evelina, dau. of the late Sir Alfred Lyall; b. Cawnpore, India, 14 Feb. 1893; educ. Warden House School, Deal, Rugby, and Woolwich, where he gained the King’s Gold Medal; was gazetted 2nd Lieut., R.E., 20 Dec. 1912; visited Germany twice during leave to study the language; was appointed on mobilisation to the 11th Field Coy. R.E. attd. to the 2nd Division, with which he left for France on 15 Aug. 1914, and was killed in action while in charge of a bridge over a canal at Pont Arcy, 14 Sept. 1914, during the crossing of the Aisne; unm. Buried where he fell.
MILLER, HARRY, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4694), 230012, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
MILLER, INGLIS FRANCIS ROWLEY, Lieut., 3rd (Reserve), attd. 2nd, Battn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 2nd and only surviving s. of the late Major Rowley Alexander Rowley Miller, of Millbank, Omagh, co. Tyrone, by his wife, Ella Frances, dau. of the late Rev. Thomas Mason of All Saints’, Blackrock, Dublin; b. Millbank, 19 Jan. 1893; educ. Berkhamsted; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 3rd Battn. (Royal Tyrone Militia) Inniskilling Fusiliers, 1910, and promoted Lieut. 26 July, 1912; went to France with the Expeditionary Force in Aug. 1914, attd. to the 2nd Battn, and was wounded in the shoulder and leg in the first battle—at Cambray—26 Aug. during the retreat from Mons, and was taken prisoner. A week later his father received a card from him stating that he was doing well, and was well cared for. Tetanus, however, supervened, and he died at Venelon Hospital, France, 14 Sept. 1914; unm. It was not till the end of Jan. 1915, that notice of his death was received through the American Ambassador. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 8 Oct. [London Gazette, 19 Oct.] 1914, for gallant and distinguished conduct in the field. He was gazetted to the 2nd Inniskilling Fusiliers, 19 Nov. 1914.
Inglis F. R. Miller.
MILLER, JOHN, Private, R.M.L.I. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 793), 7086, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
MILLER, LIONEL, A.B., 172493, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
MILLER, RICHARD LESLIE, Private, No. 15245, A Coy. 2nd Battn. Suffolk Regt., s. of the late Horace Edward Miller, of Royton, co. Suffolk, and Zions Hill, Fincastle, Virginia, U.S.A., by his wife, Alice (now the wife of Harry Ernest Ling, of Little Cornard, Sudbury, Suffolk), dau. of Edward May, of Capel St. Andrew, Suffolk; b. Virginia, U.S.A., 8 Sept. 1882; educ. Haverstock Hill, London; was a Gardener; enlisted in Sept. 1914; went to France, 23 Feb. 1915, and was killed in action there, 26 July following; unm. He was buried at Spoilbank, between Lankhop Chateau and Chester Farm. His Commanding Officer spoke very highly of him in writing to his mother, and said that he died a heroic death.
MILLER, THOMAS JAMES, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 686, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
MILLER, WALTER, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4590), S.S. 103698, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
MILLETT, ARTHUR, Private, No. 2176, 5th Battn. King’s Own Yorkshire L.I. (T.F.), yr. s. of Alfred Miller, of Newgate, Pontefract, Miner; b. Newgate, 25 July, 1895; educ. St. Joseph’s Catholic School, Pontefract; was a Colliery Driver; enlisted 26 July, 1914; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war; went to France, 13 March, and was mortally wounded 18 June, 1915, while assisting to repair a barbed-wire fence in front of our first-line trenches at Bois Grenier, and died the same day. Buried there; unm. His coy. officer wrote: “He was one of the nicest and cheeriest lads in the platoon, and I feel I have lost one of the best and bravest. I can assure you that all the lads of his platoon feel his loss deeply, as he was one of the most popular amongst them.... The time he was shot he was with a working party at night, in front of the parapet, repairing barbed wire, when several shots came across rapidly. Arthur lost consciousness almost at once, and when the end came he had not regained it, so that he practically suffered no pain.” Of his two brothers, the eldest, Sergt. Alfred Millett, R.E., was wounded in France, and the younger, William, is (1916) a Corpl. in the King’s Own Yorkshire L.I.
Arthur Millett.
MILLETT, FREDERICK, Stoker, R.N.R., T. 3025, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
MILLINGTON, GEORGE ERNEST, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 1710), 190050, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
MILLINGTON, HERBERT HUGH, Rifleman, No. 1881, 18th Battn. (London Irish Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), yr. s. of the late Rev. William Millington, Rector of Cottingham, Northamptonshire, by his wife, Margaret (St. Margaret’s, Westcott, near Dorking, Surrey), dau. of George Smith, Manufacturer; b. Wandsworth Common, 14 May, 1873; educ. Merchant Taylors’ School, and Tucson Mining College, Arizona, U.S.A., and was a mining engineer and surveyor in America. Being in England on a holiday when war broke out, he joined the London Irish Rifles the next day; went to France in March, 1915, was wounded at Givenchy on 16 May, during the Second Battle of Ypres, and died on 17 May, 1915, of wounds; unm. Buried in the cemetery at Aire. A stained-glass window was erected to his memory in Cottingham Church.
Herbert H. Millington.
MILLS, ARCHIBALD HARDING, S.S.A., M. 6886 (Ports.), H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
MILLS, CHARLES, Private, R.M.L.I., Po. 10422, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
MILLS, CHARLES DANIEL, Boy Servant, L. 5452, H.M.S. Cressy, eldest s. of Henry Albert Mills, of 39, Boleyn Road, East Ham, Packing Case Maker, by his wife, Elizabeth Jane, dau. of Daniel Hills Hobbs, Carpenter and Joiner; b. Stratford New Town, co. Essex, 8 Dec. 1897; educ. Plashet Lane Council School, East Ham; joined the Navy, 16 June, 1914, and was lost when H.M.S. Cressy was torpedoed in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914; unm.
MILLS, EDWARD GEORGE, Private, No. 10465, 2nd Battn. Royal Sussex Regt., eldest s. of Percy Mills, of The Kennels, Findon, co. Sussex, by his wife, Eliza, dau. of James Kent; b. Littlehampton, 3 Oct. 1895; educ. there; was an Under Cowman; enlisted after the outbreak of war, 28 Aug. 1914; trained at Dover; went to France, 24 Jan. 1915, and was killed in action at the Battle of Loos, 25 Sept. 1915; unm.
MILLS, EWDIN, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3937), 197120, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
MILLS, GEORGE HARVEY, Private, No. 23128, 13th (Service) Battn. The Royal Scots, only surviving s. of George Mills, of Edinburgh, Draper, by his wife, Bertha Agnes, dau. of David Smith; b. Edinburgh, 22 March, 1894; educ. Musselburgh Grammar School, and Daniel Stewart’s College, Edinburgh; was Cashier with Messrs. Maxton, Graham & Syme, Chartered Accountants, Edinburgh; joined the Royal Scots, 1 June, 1915; went to France, 2 Oct. 1915, and was killed in action near Vermelles, 19 Nov. following, by the bursting of a shell, which entered the dug-out where he was; unm. Buried at Le Haie, east of Vermelles.
George Harvey Mills.
MILLS, JESSE, Sergt., No. 7159, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of Jesse Matthew Mills, of 45, Chapel Street, Bognor, by his wife, Janet, dau. of Henry Horner, of Bognor; b. Bognor, Sussex, 4 Feb. 1888; educ. Council School there; enlisted at Chichester, 4 March, 1907; served four years in England and three in Egypt; and then, in Jan. 1914, joined the Police Force at Ventnor, Isle of Wight. He was recalled to the Colours, 4 Aug. following; left for France on the 29th; was wounded in action at Ypres on 21 Oct., and died in the Mater Hospital at Dublin, 16 Nov. 1914; unm.
Jesse Mills.
MILLS, JOHN, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 9433), S.S. 106665, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
MILLS, JOSEPH, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 4920), S.S. 1772, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
MILLS, JOSEPH HENRY, Private, 15/978, North Auckland Regt., New Zealand Expeditionary Force, s. of Joseph Mills, of Westport, Gold Miner; b. Charleston, New Zealand, 9 July, 1889; educ. Public School there; was a Carter in Auckland; on the outbreak of war joined the Expeditionary Force, 5 Sept. 1914, left for Egypt with the second contingent; took part in the repulse of the Turkish attack on the Suez Canal, and died of wounds received in action at the Dardanelles, 9 May, 1915; unm.
MILLS, MARK, Private, No. B. 1549, Ch. 9860, R.M.L.I., s. of Mark Mills, of Holloway, London, by his wife, Caroline, dau. of (——) Williamson; b. London, 11 Sept. 1879; educ. there; joined the Navy, 18 Aug. 1897, and was lost on H.M.S. Cressy, when that ship was sunk in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914. He m. at St. Paul’s Church, Upper Holloway, 27 Feb. 1910, Florence Caroline (53A, Ormiston Road, Shepherd’s Bush, W.), dau. of Albert Aldridge, and had three children: Mark, b. 5 Sept. 1911; Cecil, b. 25 July, 1913; and Margery, b. 26 July, 1910.
MILLS, WILLIAM, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 2795), 186948, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
MILLWARD, HENRY WOODVINE, Deckhand, No. 365 D.A., Trawler Section, R.N.R.; lost when the mine-sweeping trawler No. 61 (Thomas W. Irvine, of North Shields) was sunk by a mine, Aug. 1914.
MILNE, FRANCIS JAMES, Private, No. 1555, 1st Battn. Honourable Artillery Coy., elder s. of James Milne, of 14, Park Houses, Willesden Green, N.W., by his wife, Harriette Eugenie, dau. of William Southwood, of Exeter, and grandson of John Milne, formerly of New Merdrum, Rhynie, co. Aberdeen; b. Willesden Green, afsd. 20 Dec. 1891; educ. The Haberdashers’ School, West Hampstead; was a Commercial Traveller; on the outbreak of war joined the H.A.C., with his brother, Hugh, and volunteered for foreign service; went to France, 18 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action at Rouge Croix, 14 Nov. 1914, during the Battle for Calais; unm. Buried with full military honours in a farm garden, Les Lobes, La Conture, Pas-de-Calais. He was the first man in the H.A.C. to fall. Two days before he was killed he wrote: “Hugh and I are in the best of health. Don’t worry if you do not hear regularly from us. The post is very uncertain. We are quite safe and glad to be out here doing our duty.” Lieut.-Col. Treffery wrote: “He died as many others have done during the past few months, doing his duty and putting in the best he could for his country”; and Capt. A. L. Ward: “I think perhaps it may lessen your grief to know how well he has done his duty during the trying and difficult times we have had for the past three weeks, and as his captain, I can assure you of my sorrow at losing such an excellent soldier.” While at school he passed the junior Cambridge examination, and won V form prize. He gained many prizes and certificates for shooting and swimming, including life-saving, and was enrolled as first-class shot in National Roll of Marksmen; was a member of the Cadet Corps; Capt. of the Rifle Club, and best shot in the school. At Bisley in 1908 he won the 1st Prize, Silver Cigarette Case, in Marydown Competition; 2nd prize, Silver Watch, Cheylesmore Cup Competition; the Patriotic Society’s Badge and the Bisley medal.
Francis James Milne.
MILNE, JAMES, Private, No. 1364, 15th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, elder s. of James Milne, of East Grange, Kinloss, by Forres, a Platelayer on the Highland Railway, by his wife, Jane Milne, dau. of John Bower, Road Contractor, Dufftown; b. Rothes, 23 March, 1893; educ. Inchberry and Alves Public Schools, afterwards being employed on the Highland Railway at Inverness; went to Australia in 1911, and was engaged in gold mining at Cobar; volunteered after the outbreak of war and joined the Australian Imperial Force in Feb. 1915; went to the Dardanelles, and died of wounds received in action there, 13 Oct. 1915; unm.
James Milne.
MILNE, WILLIAM, Private, No. 9383, 1st Battn. The Royal Scots, s. of William Milne, by his wife, Sarah, dau. of James McFarlane; b. Edinburgh, 1889; educ. St. Leonard Street Public School, Edinburgh; enlisted in 1900; went to France, 6th March, 1915, and died 23 April, 1915, of wounds received in the 2nd Battle of Ypres. He m. at Dundee, 1 Oct. 1905, Williamine (40, Watson’s Lane, Dundee), dau. of James Donnelly, of that city, and had a son, James, b. 17 Nov. 1910.
MILNER, JOHN LEWIS, M.A., 2nd Lieut., Royal Field Artillery, eldest s. of John William Milner, of 31 Penkett Road, Liscard, Wallasey, Merchant, by his wife, Annie, dau. of Henry Lewis; b. Liverpool, 26 Feb. 1892; educ. St. Bee’s School, Cumberland, and graduated B.A. in 1911, and M.A. in 1913. He was a brilliant scholar, and held Sir Edward Grey’s nomination for a position under the Foreign Office, and had spent some time abroad making a special study of modern languages, but on the outbreak of war, applied for a commission, and was gazetted to the reserve of officers, and went to Woolwich in Aug. 1914. He went out to the Front the first week in Jan. 1915, received a commission in the regular Army, 15 Feb., and was killed in action near Ypres, on Sunday, 9 May, 1915; unm. “He was in the trenches,” wrote his Colonel, “observing the fire of his battery. The Germans rushed our front trenches, and all the infantry officers at that point were killed. In rallying the Infantry to retake the trench, he was shot through the head. He was a very gallant officer.”