Born on 6th June 1887, son of
Professor John Herman Merivale, and Blanche Merivale, formerly Liddell, at 2 Victoria
Villas, Newcastle.
the 1881 and the 1901 Census and has come up
with the following:
1881 - JW's Father's
profession was given as Mining Engineer and Professor of Mining at Durham
University. In 1878 he had married Blanche LIDDELL. (Her father was a mining
engineer)
From the
1901 Census, they were now in Togston Hall, Amble, and also lists the sons,
Togston Hall, Amble (A recent picture courtesey
of John Hardy)
Togston Hall is a listed building Read more GOTO
about Togston Hall and more pictures GOTOPICS
Charles aged 22 -
mining apprentice
Bernard aged 18 -
undergraduate at Cambridge
Vernon aged 9 (Captain
Vernon Merivale proceeded to France with the 7th NF on 21st April 1915, and was one
of the other Company commanders who survived the 15th September attack, as far as I can
ascertain, he survived the War)
Francis aged 5
(Lieutenant F. Merivale was also in the 7th NF, he died in a military hospital near Rouen
shortly after the Armistice in Nov 1918. The 7th NF History states from Natural
causes. Probably the Influenza epidemic that took a great number of people at that
time) Date of death was Sunday the17th
November, He was buried at ST. SEVER CEMETERY EXTENSION, ROUEN Seine-Maritime, France.
Grave or Reference Panel Number: S.V.1.8.
and John W. aged 13,
then a boarder at Sea Bank School, Alnmouth.
John was educated at Sedbergh School, Alnmouth.
Then from Easter 1904, he entered St
Edwards School, Woodstock Road, Oxford. Pupil number 1171, House: Sings (B).
He became a Prefect, and left in the summer of 1906.
He joined Queens College Oxford in
1906, and gained a BA and was a member of the University Officer Training Corps
(OTC).
He left Oxford in 1909, and on
discharge tfom the OTC, he applied for a commission on the 16th of August 1910, as
2nd Lieutenant in the 7th Northumberland Fusiliers, Auxiliary Forces.
Meanwhile he
became a student Solicitor, living at 21 Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Presumably being called up to the
Army on the outbreak of war in 1914.
John married Blanche Liddell on the 31st July
1913 at St. Mary Boltons, West Brompton, London. Witnesses present at the
wedding were his brother Vernon Merivale, and Mary. J. Liddell.
They
had a daughter, Margaret Irving Merivale, who was born on the 5th May 1914
It is confusing that his Mother was also Blanche
Liddell, I have yet to prove their relationship.
John and his Father were
members of the Newcastle 'Literary
& Philosophical Society. John joined the Society in 1911 his address
was given as 21 Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne. (the entry for that address
in the census was Miss J.R. Liddell)
Appointed a Trustee on the
3rd February 1914. In the minutes of the meeting, it states his address as being 18
Harley Terrace, Gosforth (quite a well-to-do part of Newcastle) and his profession is
stated as Solicitor. The City Directory for 1914 confirms this.
His Father was elected in
1871 and became a secretary in 1887, retaining that office until 1895. In 1901 he
was appointed a Vice-President. He took a great interest in the Society's work and was
ever ready to further its development and welfare. By his death on 18th November 1916,
(two months after John W) the Society had lost a useful member and the Committee a valued
colleague.
John went to France on the
21st April 1915, with the 7th NF, Territiorial Force, one of Kitchener's 'New Armies', and
within days were in action. They were the first Territorials into action in the Great War,
and took part in an attack on the village of Fortuin on the 25th April, and St Julien on
the 26th.
I quote from the 7th NF History, and
a piece written by Lieutenant Colonel H Liddell, D.S.O., M.C.
(I have yet to establish a Merivale family
connection to his wife): On consulting the 7th NF History, edited by Buckley, listed as proceeding to
France on the 25th April 1915 was a Captain Hugh Liddell. B.Company. He was a contributor
to the book, and acording to the credits, rose to be Lieutenant-Colonel H.Liddell, D.S.O.,
M.C....can you help?
25th April, 1915.
The Colonel had sent for the Company
Commanders, and told us we had to make an attack at 4.30 a.m. on the village of Fortuin,
about three miles north-east of this place. You should have seen our faces. We had not the
faintest notion before this that we were going to attack. We were tired out, very hungry
indeed, and pretty jumpy besides. We had no idea where we were, who was on our right and
left, we had never seen the country in daylight. All we were possessed of in the way of
information was a very inferior small scale map. Well we just had to make the best of a
bad job. We lay down for the present in the potatoes in lines of platoons, i. e., we were
spread out as far as possible with an interval of about two paces between each man. Our
guns were two or three hundred yards behind us, six 18-pounders, perhaps, and they started
shelling the country in front of us. The Boches of course, replied by shelling us, and
this went on till 4.30 a.m. It was rather a trial waiting for the next one plopping on top
of you. For the first hour I was in a mortal funk, and then I began to get more or less
used to it and brave enough to light a cigarette. Finally I fell asleep to be wakened
every now and then by a shower of mud and potatoes. I do not know how many people we lost
in this field, but finally at 4.30 a.m. we got the order to advance.
There were some Canadians in front of
us, and we struggled on after them till we came under rifle and machine-gun fire. Then the
Canadians went to ground an a ditch. We went through them, there being no more room in the
ditch, and we were very soon in the front line. By this time I was in command of a
mixed-up lot of 7th Northumberland Fusiliers, 4th Northumberland Fusiliers, Durhams
Canadians, and what not. We finally came to rest about five hundred yards from the Boches,
and started to scratch holes with our entrenching tools, to get out of the rifle fire.
Shortly afterwards a German plane came over close down, and he must have spotted us,
because the Boche guns statred shelling. The first one pitched about twenty yards to the
rear, and the next about the same distance ahead. I had just said to some of the men near
to me that we would wait for another, and if any came nearer we would shift. Well the next
one did it for me, as it pitched about one yard from my nose, which was in the
ground, and lifted me into the air. I can remember seeing a mans face with a
terrified expression on it through the black smoke, and I do not remember anything at all
after that till I found myself lying in a wet ditch alongside a hedge. Whether I was there
five minutes or an hour I do not know. I got up and wandered about for a time, and
eventually came across a man who said he had been told to find the first Northumberland
Fusilier he could and take him back to Brigade headquarters. Naturally I went, and
was taken to General Riddell, who told me to wait for some orders; so I lay down outside
his cottage and went fast asleep. They woke me at 8 p.m., and sent me out to find the rest
of the battalion and tell them to retire, as other troops were taking their place. It was
an awkward job, as I did not know where they had got to by that time. But luckily I met a
stretcher-bearer, who had just come from the line, so I gave him the message as well. It
was lucky I did so, for he found them ands I did not. I lost myself in the dark and nearly
walked into the Germans. Later I met *Jack
Merivale, also lost and very lame. We took refuge for the night in a wrecked barn,
out of which we were very soon shelled; and we spent the rest of this pleasant
evening in a hole in a field, which, by the way, was full of gas. At daylight we
started out again, and after a long tramp found the battalion about 5 a.m.
26th April, 1915.
At 2.30 p.m. we started off to attack
the village of St.Julien. We had thought that Fortuin was bad enough, but this was about
one hundred times worse. We advanced across an open plain swept with machine-gun, rifle
and artillery fire. People were going down by scores. There was a lot of barbed wire
about, which hung us up badly. I lost my pack on the way and finished up in a trench
occupied by the Dublin Fusiliers. I had a piece of schrapnel in my back and my clothes
pretty well torn to pieces, but otherwise nothing serious.
Poor general Riddell died a most
gallant death. He walked slowly up and down the firing line with his pipe in his mouth to
encourage us; and in due course was shot through the head. We also got a lot of gas, which
is not at all pleasant. Our men behaved splendidly, and one could not wish for a better
lot. My company lost 3 officers and 118 men out of a total of 243. We could only
muster about two hundred all told, out of a thousand who had left England only six days
ago.
Lieutenant Colonel H Liddell,
D.S.O., M.C.
Captain John William Merivale
* Note the familiar term 'Jack'
John Merivale was wounded, the
following medical board report was filed on the 1st May 1918:
Lieut John William Merivale suffered
a perforated wound by rifle bullet through the left thigh at St Julien on Monday april the
26th 1915. He was sent to Boulogne and thence to St Thomas's Hospital, London, where the
Lieut was X rayed and no foriegn body was found. The wound being perfectly clean, he was
put to his own home.
The injury was classified as
'Slight', and that he was likely to be incapacitated from military duty for one month.
He obviously returned to his unit,
but was again returned to England sick on the 6th of March 1916, with 'Acute
Bronchial Laryngitis'
John had a date with destiny on the
Somme on the 15th September 1916, when he
played his part in the attack by the 50th Division on the left of High Wood.
GOTO A
FULL ACOUNT OF THIS ACTION
John died on the 15th September 1916 Age 29. He
left £1,256 - 8s - 2d to his WIDOW.
It would seem that The Merivale
family paid a very high price indeed for freedom in the Great War. His poor mother,
I cannot imagine how she felt, losing two sons and a husband within two years!
JW and F Merivale appear on the WW1
memorial in St Cuthbert's Church, Amble. There is also a plaque to
J.W. in the St. Edward's School Chapel.
My thanks go to Kay Easson of the Newcastle 'Literary &
Philosophical Society for her help in compiling this short history.
