Lt MERRETT Charles Darrell AFC

[stevenbecker]

Mates,

Do you have the details on this officer.

MERRETT Charles Darrell 2/Lt

He was killed when his Avro 504 crashed near Dover in an accident on the 16th May 1916 and buried Dover (St James) Cemetery Kent UK.

His father was the well known ALH officer Col Sir Charles Edward Merrett 5 LH Bde (Milita) in Australia.

He may have been attach to the AFC from the RFC as I can't find any details on him embarking with the AIF.

Do you have anything on him?

Cheers

S.B

[Dolphin]

Steve

According to Airmen Died, Lt C D Merrett of the AFC (formerly 51st Bn, AIF) was attached to Dover Air Station at the time of his death on 16 May 1916, while flying in Avro 504A 4068 with Capt A T H Baron Lucas of the RFC, who was unhurt.

Lt Merret was the AFC's second fatal casualty of the War.

Regards

Gareth

[stevenbecker]

Thanks Mate,

I still can't find his name in the AIF embark or nom rolls or is his service record on the ANA.

I can only think they misspelled his name or he didn't enlist in the AIF?

Do you know if he was under going flight training at the time of his death or was he in an operational Sqn?

Was he the pilot or under instruction?

I did record him as being in 1 Sqn AFC but that seams impossible with the records I have?

Do you have any ideas?

Cheers

S.B

[Dolphin]

Steve

I believe that Lt Merrett would have been a pupil and Capt Lord Lucas the instructor. Lucas is mentioned in some detail in Under the Guns of the Kaiser's Aces; he lost a leg in the South African War and entered politics afterwards. He resigned as President of the Board of Agriculture in May 1915 and joined the RFC as an observer before completing flying training and qualifying as a pilot in September 1915. He was posted to No 14 Sqn and was Mentioned in Despatches for service with that unit in the Middle East. After returning to the UK he served as an instructor at Dover, where he was involved in the crash with Lt Merrett. In October 1916 he went to France as a Flight Commander in No 22 Sqn, and was killed in action when flying FE 2b 7026 on 3 November. A victory was credited to [then] Vizefeldwebel Max Müller of Jasta 2; it was the third of Müller's 36 victories before his death in action on 9 January 1918.

I don't know why Lt Merrett's name isn't on the AIF nominal rolls, but I have been unable to find other names of men who were supposed to have served.

I wish I could be more helpful.

Gareth

[stevenbecker]

Thanks Mate,

Every little bits helps the puzzle.

Cheers

S.B

[Andrew Smith]

G'day Steve,

Sorry I have had a break from aviation and writing for the last 2 months and just stumbled upon this.

Perhaps I can shed some light on Lt Merrett for you. He actually enlisted in the RNAS in 1915 and was appointed a Temp Flt Sub Lieut.

He was a Lt with the AMF before the war (51st Inf), but because he was under 21 he was not eligible for a commission in the AIF, he under took a flying course at CFS Laverton, and upon qualifying was granted leave by the Defence Dept to travel to England to get experience in Sea Plane work. The RNAS must have liked what they saw and offered him the above appointment.

I can only imagine the stoush that went on behind the scenes as the defence dept cancelled his leave and appointed him as a Lt in the AFC, with instructions to take up duty in England and to await the arrival of the first AFC Squadron. The RNAS had to cancel his appointment. I can only assume that his paper work is over in the UK somewhere.

Regards,

Andrew

[Fedelmar]

He is on the Honour Roll at the AWM.

http://www.awm.gov.au/roh/person.asp?p=145-37929

He is on the Nominal Roll

http://www.awm.gov.au/nominalrolls/ww1/pag...Surname=merrett

I was unable to find anything more than this.

Perhaps one for Craig Tibbetts.

Bright Blessings

Sandra

PS:

after poking around a bit more I found these websites.

http://www.australianflyingcorps.org/2004_...llofhonour.html

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gareth.moore7/StJamesM-O.html

[stevenbecker]

Andrew,

Thanks mate yes he was made a Prov 2/Lt with BCo the 51st Infantry Regt on the 26th Aug 1913.

Do we had anyone that can confirm this RNAS conection?

Would the 1 Sqn shown as the Sqn of his death be 1 Sqn RNAS or 1 Sqn RFC?

Cheers

S.B

[Andrew Smith]

Andrew,

Thanks mate yes he was made a Prov 2/Lt with BCo the 51st Infantry Regt on the 26th Aug 1913.

Do we had anyone that can confirm this RNAS conection?

Would the 1 Sqn shown as the Sqn of his death be 1 Sqn RNAS or 1 Sqn RFC?

Cheers

S.B

G'day Steve,

I can confirm his RNAS enlistment, I have several sources from the UK (Duncan Black was one source) and one from here, his old school Melbourne Grammar have confirmed the RNAS appointment as well.

Andrew

[Guest]

Hi, my name is Ian Brock, Charles Darrell Merrett was the brother of my grandmother on my mothers side. I have a photo and some info on him which my mother had in her photo collection. I would like to know if he had some service medals and what or where they were sent.

[topgun1918]

Just seen this topic. From "Flight" of 25 May 1916:

An inquest was held at Dover on Lieut. C. D. Merrett, of the Australian Flying Corps, who was killed on May 16th. Capt. Lord Lucas, R.F.C., said that he was instructing the deceased in a dual-control machine and he thought Lieut. Merrett must have pulled the aeroplane's nose round causing it to lose flying speed. A verdict of "Accidental Death" was returned.

Graeme

[Guest Sally Wilson]

Charles Darrell Merrett was my great uncle, my grandfather his younger brother, Edward Noel, I am thrilled to see a photo of him, his tragic death certainly cast a shadow on our family for several generations, he was a very loved brother and son. His generation and all those who served and died in this dreadful war should never be forgotten.

Would love to know how Ian Brock is related, was his mother a Berry?