Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Samuel Alfred Mercer was born on 6th November 1894, at 37 Percy St. St. Pancras London.   He was the 4th child of 8 children of William Alfred Mercer and Martha Fraser.  By the early 1900’s the Mercer family was living at 42 Newstead Rd. Lee Kent.

Samuel and two of his brothers William and James all attended a boarding school possibly called King Edward Grammar School.   Samuel spent most of his holidays at Deal Kent where he got to know many of the local fishermen.

One of the few pastimes that Samuel is known to have had was Stamp Collecting.   At Deal, he used to help pick apples at a nearby orchard.    Samuel seems not to have got on with his family.  In 1912 he had left England and travelled to the South of France, where at Marseilles Samuel and his uncle Charles George Mercer Newcombe boarded the ship “Oceanien” (a Messageries Maritime Co. Ship) and sailed to Fremantle, W.A..  They were listed on the ship’s manifest as Farmers.

The ship arrived at Fremantle on the 9th February 1912.    Samuel was not even 18 yet.    Samuel and his uncle lived at 220 Beaufort St. North Perth during 1912.   Not much is known of Samuel’s early life in Australia.   A tragic event occurred on 5th January 1913 when his uncle Charles died of appendicitis in Perth.  This left Samuel all alone in Australia.

Charles Newcombe was listed as a Contractor at the time of his death.   Family stories say that he was a bridge builder.   At this time in W.A. there was a big increase in the length and number of railways.   This could quite possibly be what he was working on.    The death Certificate of Charles Mercer stated that his father was a William Mercer (an Auctioneer) and that he was married.   However his father was James Mercer and he was born on the 8/8/1865.

Samuel lived in Midland and drove taxis for a while before World War 1 started.     On the 10th September 1914, Samuel Mercer joined the A.I.F. as a Private in the 4th Field Ambulance – C Section - Regimental Number 1376.   He embarked on the 8/2/1915 from Fremantle aboard HMAT A47 Mashobra and proceeded to join the force for Gallipoli on the 12/4/1915.

While serving in Gallipoli, he was badly injured in his right breast, subsequently losing a lung.    He was transferred to Abbey Wood, the Australian Depot in England, to recuperate before being transferred back to Australia.    Abbey Wood was just north of his former home in Lee.    In fact, his father was able to make regular visits to him, as he was so close.

On the 17 March 1916 he returned to Australia on the former Blue Funnel Liner, now Troopship, “Ascanius”.

It was some time after returning to Australia that Samuel met Daisy Moorhouse whom he would marry.

Daisy Margaret Moorhouse was born on 30th June 1894 in Hobart, Tasmania, the 3rd child of 6 children.   Her parents were Miles Moorhouse and Henrietta Richardson.

Miles moved to W.A. in 1902, arriving at Fremantle on January 20th 1902 aboard the S.S. Anglian. They were saloon passengers.   However only the 3 eldest children were listed on the shipping manifest.

In WA they moved about a lot due to Miles Teaching career.  

Miles could be very stern.   He made all his children attend school when they turned 3.   The school was a room set up in his home.     He encouraged them all to read and gain knowledge.

Daisy was an ardent reader.  If she didn’t do as her father said he would throw the books/comics (that she bought and was reading) into the fire.    Many a time she never got to finish the book she was reading as it was taken from her.

Samuel Mercer married Daisy Moorhouse on 30/6/1920 at Scots Church Fremantle; however, this was not legal, because the minister did not have the authority to marry anyone, so they married legally on 30/6/1921 at Miles Moorhouse’s home in Finnerty St. Fremantle.

Samuel was offered a War Service Pension of 2/6 a week when he came home from the war.   At first he refused it, but by the time their 3rd child Lorna was born Daisy had persuaded him to accept it.

Daisy and Samuel lived in East Fremantle for a while at Zenobia St. before moving to Northam.    Samuel was working as an Insurance Agent for the first few years after his marriage.   Daisy and Samuel had 8 children but 2 were stillborn or died just after birth.    Their surviving children were:-

Phyllis Muriel               17/8/1921, Fremantle

William Ernest Alfred   5/10/1922, Fremantle

Lorna Jean                    21/8/1924, Fremantle

Nina Jessie                    31/7/1926, Fremantle

Roma Grace                  31/5/1929, Fremantle

James Samuel               3/6/1931, Fremantle

The two other children were males.   The first was stllborn around 1925 in Northam, while the last was born on 16/4/1935.    Little is known about the first stillborn child.   The second lived for a few hours.    The baby was born after Daisy fell down some stairs.   This baby was buried at Fremantle cemetery.   It was never named.

Samuel Alfred worked for the PMG until he retired.   The Mercers lived in Fremantle after returning from Northam.    They moved around Fremantle and by 1929, they were living at 37 Russell St. South Fremantle. 

The family then moved to Pipe Track(now Bickley Rd.) Kenwick in September 1935.   They acquired 6 ¾ acres at Canning Location 3.11.12, lot 237, from the Woolley’s on the 10th September 1935.

The house in Kenwick had 4 rooms on either side of a central passageway, with a closed in verandah at the back and a little kitchenette in part of the verandah area.   Lorna had one bedroom, Daisy and Samuel one bedroom, a changing room where all the wardrobes were kept and a dining room.  

The rest of the children slept on the closed verandah.   Canvas was placed along the side of the verandah to enclose it.   Later on Roma shared a bedroom with Phyllis.    The house was made of asbestos with jarrah weatherboard on the lower half of the walls.     The laundry and toilet were out back away from the main house.   When the Mercers arrived in Kenwick electricity was not yet connected.

The Mercer girls did embroidery and knitting at night by candles and hurricane lamps.    Billy toyed around with crystal radio sets while Jimmy worked in the garden.

Tradesmen were hard to get during the second world war years.   This is illustrated by a window in Daisy and Samuel room.   It was broken by the boys kicking a football through it.  It remained broken until after the war when they were able to get it repaired.

Also during the war the Mercers had Annie Smith and her two sons Alex and John boarding with them.   Annie’s husband Oriel was serving in the Army and was a POW in Germany.   The Smith’s had a piggery before the War.

Samuel built a rifle range at the back of the property and taught all the children how to shoot a .22 rifle.   Billy had a .22 rifle of his own.  Samuel always emphasised to stay behind the person that was shooting.

Samuel was an ambulance driver for a while.   He enjoyed first aid work.   He was a pacifist at heart, but believed everyone should do their duty, thus the reason he joined the medical corps during World War I.   

On 27 November 1942, Samuel and his family were returning home from the Services Canteen in Perth on the train when it hit a bus at Mint Street, Carlisle,  Rd. around 11.30 p.m.  There was a woman and her baby on the bus.   The woman was killed but the baby survived but was trapped under the bus.   The baby died the next day of multiple injuries. Samuel climbed under the bus and rescued the baby.

When the Mercer’s were living in Russell St. Fremantle Samuel helped the Midwife deliver babies.   Samuel helped to deliver his son Jimmy.   Samuel ensured that all the children did the Red Cross first aid courses.   The children also helped the Red Cross by doing things for them, e.g. knitting socks.

Samuel was very community minded.   He used to attend all the meetings in the district, e.g. school meetings.    He also was a member of the “Buffaloes”

Daisy felt sorry for any hobos (swaggies) and always gave them something to eat.   She also used to make tea for the workmen working on the pipeline along the pipetrack.   Daisy was always in the kitchen.   She was also the first to get up in the morning and the last to bed.

Daisy was a very good cook.   The people of Kenwick would ask Daisy to cook special food for their children when they were sick.

The Mercers had a number of animals on the property.    They had up to 5 cows, which Roma and Lorna milked.    The cows were taken to Sampson’s to be served by their bulls.    One cow, Judy, would always get out when on heat and go to Sampson’s by itself.  

They also had Muscovy ducks and pigs.   Daisy would breed and fatten the ducks up then send them to market to be killed and sold.  The ducks and pigs were fed with milk mixed with bran and pollard.    The Mercer’s got enough cream from their cows to be able to send the cream to market.

The pigs were also sent to the market.    During the war years Samuel used to kill some pigs himself and sold them to the local butchers.   Bull calves were also killed and sold to the Maddington butcher.    The cows were milked by the Mercer children before they went to school and after they came home from school.

During the war years a bartering system operated.    Neighbours would swap fruit and vegetables for eggs, cream and butter.   There were grape vines at the back of their Kenwick property.

When the Mercer children were young, they used to go to a swamp on Bickley Rd., which they called The Salt Lake, about 5 minutes from their home.  The swamp contained a lot of gilgies.    Jimmy used to catch them by tying a piece of string with meat attached around his big toe and dangling it in the water.   

Bonfire night, on the 5th of November, was an activity the whole family participated in.   They used to put potatoes and onions in the ashes.  Once cooked they took them out, knocked the black ash off and put salt and butter on them to eat.

Samuel made all his children go to Sunday School on Sunday mornings and church service in the evening.    They were not allowed to do anything else except milk the cows, as “Sunday was a day of rest”.

As the children got older they went to the Buffaloes Balls.   Samuel was a member of the Buffaloes and he always had something to do with the balls. He use to play in an orchetra and at the Buffaloes Balls he conducted the orchestra.

Daisy and Samuel eventually moved to Bentley in 1955, Samuel died on 28/6/1966.   Daisy died on 13/11/1986 at Royal Perth Hospital after being in ill health for a while.