Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir David Mercer, (1 July 1864 – 1 July 1920) was a

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

officer who served as Adjutant-General Royal Marines.

Military career

Mercer was commissioned into the

Royal Marine Light Infantry The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...

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 ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

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

Imbros Imbros or İmroz Adası, officially Gökçeada (lit. ''Heavenly Island'') since 29 July 1970,Alexis Alexandris, "The Identity Issue of The Minorities in Greece And Turkey", in Hirschon, Renée (ed.), ''Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1 ...

but, after fierce fighting, he was evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915. He went on to be Assistant Adjutant-General in September 1911 and Adjutant-General Royal Marines in June 1916.

Personal life

Mercer married Katherine F. Laurence, who survived him. He died on his 56th birthday of heart failure following an operation. He was buried in

Hamilton Road Cemetery, Deal Hamilton Road Cemetery is a combined municipal and military burial ground situated in the coastal town of Deal, Kent, in South East England. Opened in May 1856, it was created to provide a new burial ground for Deal at a time when its general pop ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Gunning 1864 births 1920 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Marines generals Royal Marines generals of World War I People from Islington (district) Military personnel from Middlesex Gallipoli campaign Burials in Kent