30324
WILSON, Mervyn Le Maistre
| Service Number: | 751 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Motor Mechanic |
| Died: | Circumstances of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Aldgate War Memorial, Balhannah Old Scholars Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 751, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 751, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide |
Mervyn LeMaistre Wilson
Name: Mervyn LeMaistre Wilson
Service Number: 751
Place of Birth: Stirling West / Mount Barker
Date of Birth: 20 July 1896
Place of Enlistment: Adelaide
Date of Enlistment: 16 February 1916
Age at Enlistment: 19 years 6 months
Next of Kin: Mother, Harriett Elizabeth Wilson
Occupation: Motor Mechanic
Religion: Methodist
Rank: Private
Having initially been rejected as a recruit due to having a weak heart, Mervyn was accepted in February 1916. He left Adelaide on the A 19 Afric on 9 June. Mervyn spent considerable time throughout 1916 and 1917 being hospitalised in England due to pleurisy and debility. He was hospitalised with a hernia in 1918, but was able to rejoin the 43rd Battalion in France on 6 May. Mervyn returned to Australia on the Nestor on 20 May 1919 and was discharged on 14 August.
The case of Mervyn Wilson raises the question of how could a person be initially rejected as a recruit because he had a weak heart and later be accepted. Was this due to medical incompetence or a desperate attempt to gain recruits in order to bolster numbers prior to the first conscription referendum?
Submitted 23 October 2023 by christopher collins