MERRITT, Edward James
| Service Number: | 3563 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 April 1915, Place of Enlistment, Clifton, Queensland. |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 7th Field Ambulance |
| Born: | Hughenden, Queensland, Australia, 2 August 1895 |
| Home Town: | Hughenden, Flinders, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Catholic School, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Heart Failure , Mareeba, Queensland, Australia, 5 August 1970, aged 75 years |
| Cemetery: |
Mareeba New Cemetery, Queensland Australia Section 4, R Catholic, Row G, Site No 29. |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Apr 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3563, 7th Field Ambulance, Place of Enlistment, Clifton, Queensland. | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 3563, 7th Field Ambulance, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 24 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 3563, 7th Field Ambulance, HMAT Ascanius, Brisbane | |
| 24 May 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Driver, 7th Field Ambulance | |
| 9 Feb 1920: | Discharged AIF WW1, Driver, 3563, 7th Field Ambulance |
Edward James Merritt.
Edward was born in Hughenden but was made a Ward of the State at an early age, as his father had left the family while they were living in Townsville, and as she didn't have the means to care for him and his siblings. As they were Catholic children they were forwarded on to the Meteor Park Orphange, Neerkol (Rockhampton) rather than remaining in the Townsville orphanage. Edward was there for all of his school years, and when old enough he was sent to work on a property near Clifton, where he enlisted for Service in 1915.
Edward married in Mackay in 1924 and moved to Mareeba on the Atherton Tablelands where he lived a long and happy life after returning from the war, and died of a heart attack aged 75 in Mareeba and is interred in the Mareeba Cemetery.
Story Courtesy of Rhonda Towner.
Submitted 29 June 2022 by Lynette Turner
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