David Mercer (Royal Marines officer)
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Sir David Mercer
| image = Major-general Sir David Mercer, Kcb, Adjutant-general, Royal Marine Forces, 1916-1920 - 1918 Art.IWMART1336.jpg
| caption = Sir David Mercer, 1918
| nickname =
| birth_date = 1 July 1864
| birth_place = Islington, Middlesex
| death_date = 1 July 1920 (aged 56)
| death_place = London, England
| allegiance = United Kingdom
| branch = Royal Marines
| serviceyears = 1883–1920
| rank = Major General
| unit =
| commands = Adjutant-General Royal Marines (1916–20)
1st Royal Naval Brigade (1914–16)
| battles = First World War
| awards = Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Mentioned in Despatches (2)
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
Major General Sir David Mercer, {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KCB}} (1 July 1864 – 1 July 1920) was a Royal Marines officer who served as Adjutant-General Royal Marines.{{cite news |title= Obituary: Sir David Mercer |work=The Times |date= 2 July 1920 |page= 15}}
Military career
Mercer was commissioned into the Royal Marine Light Infantry in 1883.Obituary: Sir David Mercer, Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald, 10 July 1920
He became commander of the 1st (Royal Naval) Brigade in 1914 and saw action during the Siege of Antwerp. Following the subsequent retreat, Mercer led the brigade into the Netherlands to avoid capture by the Germans. In 1915, still at the head of the brigade, he took part in the Gallipoli landings in June 1915. The plan had been for Mercer to become military governor of ImbrosSellers, p. 148 but, after fierce fighting, he was evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915.{{cite web|url=http://forces.tv/89041888|title=Gallipoli 100: Diary Entries From The Front|date=21 April 1915|publisher=Forces.tv|access-date=20 May 2016|archive-date=18 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118094735/http://forces.tv/89041888|url-status=dead}}
He went on to be Assistant Adjutant-General in September 1911{{cite web|url=http://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/pageturner.cfm?id=94336314&mode=transcription|title=Navy List|date=December 1913|access-date=20 May 2016}} and Adjutant-General Royal Marines in June 1916.{{cite web|url= http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Senior%20Royal%20Navy%20Appointments%201865-.pdf|title=Senior Royal Navy appointments|access-date=20 May 2016}}
Personal life
Mercer married Katherine F. Laurence, who survived him.{{cite web |title=Mercer, Sir David |url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/365321/mercer,-sir-david/ |access-date=17 May 2018 |publisher=CWGC}} He died on his 56th birthday of heart failure following an operation. He was buried in Hamilton Road Cemetery, Deal.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
Sources
- {{cite book|title=The Hood Battalion|first=Leonard |last=Sellers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNCkAwAAQBAJ&q=Major-General+Sir+David+Mercer&pg=PA147|publisher=Pen & Sword|year=1993|isbn=978-1473819412}}
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{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir William Nicholls}}
{{s-ttl|title=Adjutant-General Royal Marines|years=1916–1920}}
{{s-aft|after=Gunning Campbell}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Gunning}}
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Category:Royal Marines major generals
Category:Royal Marines generals of World War I
Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Islington
Category:People from Islington (district)
Category:19th-century Royal Marines personnel