Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Newton Nottage (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard | ||
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.130 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 33C GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Son of F. X. Mertz and Elizabeth Mertz, of Hannaston, 36, Esplanade Avenue, Porthcawl, Glam.Walter Scott Mertz had been born to Franz and Elizabeth Mertz on August 11, 1883 in Treherbert. His father, Franz, was born in Baden, Germany and had arrived in Merthyr Tydfil in the late 1860s, where he met and married his wife Elizabeth Hannah.
In the 1891 Census, the couple are found living in Aberdare where Franz worked as a fancy china dealer. On Franz’s death in 1898, Elizabeth moved to ‘Hannaston’, 36 Esplanade Avenue, Porthcawl (‘Lorelei’ today) where she died in 1930.
Education & Career :
On leaving Pontypridd Intermediate Secondary School, Walter was employed as a draper’s assistant by William Jarvis of Aberdare.
He was a member of the Eton Excelsior Rowing Club.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: Corps of Royal Engineers |
| Action : Accident |
Accidents were a minor factor in the casualty list. Our definition is deaths resulting from activities that were not directly associated with 'active service'. We have excluded Naval Accidents which are seperately identified because of their numbers and impact. Many accidents involved the aviators, operating at the the limits of technology.
On August 11, 1914, his 31st birthday, he enlisted, as a motorcycle dispatch rider to the South Midland Mounted Brigade.
Having survived the Gallipoli campaign with the 2nd South Midland Mounted Brigade, as a Lance Corporal, on June 8, 1916 he had been transferred to the Royal Engineers; being granted a commission on June 15, 1916.
On July 28, 1916 while arranging billets for his men, 2nd Lt Mertz was killed on the Abingdon Road on his way to Didcot when his motorcycle collided on a ‘hairpin bend’ with Superintendent Foster’s car coming in the opposite direction.
Lt Mertz, 33, was thrown from his machine and as a result died of a fractured skull. His body was brought home to Porthcawl for burial in St John’s Churchyard, Newton.
What is so sad is, that after his death, his fiancée and mother contested his will, which was overseen by the Metropolitan Bank in Porthcawl (Costa today). Elizabeth Mertz, his mother, won her claim.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Londonderry No. 2039 E.C. | Durham |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
6th May 1912 | 3rd June 1912 | 4th November 1912 |
While in the north-east, Walter was a member of 2039 Londonderry Lodge, Masonic Hall, Park Terrace, Sunderland; which today stands in the grounds of Beamish Museum.
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley