George P. Merz
Background
George Pinnock Merz was born at Prahran, Victoria on 10 October 1891. He matriculated as dux from Grenville College, and he studied medicine at Melbourne University. During this time, he also became actively involved in the Melbourne University Rifles.
Dr George Pinnock Merz was killed in Action in the Middle East. He attended Humffray Street State School. [1] In 1904 he studied Chemistry at the Ballarat School of Mines as a State School student, and in 1907 he matriculated from Grenville College.[2]
Merz graduated in Medicine from the University of Melbourne. His keen interest in aviation resulted in his intake into the first military flying course conducted at Point Cook in November 1914. In the same month he became the second officer to obtain his wings.[3]
Merz was part of the Mesopotamian Half-Flight (MHF), which was the first Australian Flying Corps (AFC) unit to see active service during World War One. On 30 July 1915, one of the Caudrons G.3 was forced to land in enemy territory due to mechanical problems. It was later reported that the crew – Lieutenants George Pinnock Merz (a medical doctor and formerly of the Melbourne University Rifles) and W. W. A. Burn (a New Zealander) – were killed by armed civilians after a running gun-battle over several miles. They were Australia's first air-war casualties. [4]
Legacies
Merz Street in the Ballarat suburb of Lucas was named after George Merz. [5]
A World War One brass memorial plaque on the wall of St Andrew's Kirk, Ballarat includes the Merz name. A plaque is located at the base of the Aleppo tree at Ballarat Cemetery.
Also See
References
- ↑ Courier Supplement Celebrating the Century, 2000.
- ↑ Federation University Historical Collection Database.
- ↑ Ballarat News, 01 November 2018.
- ↑ Cutlack, Frederic Morley (1941). The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War, 1914–1918. Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Volume VIII (11th ed.). Canberra: Australian War Memorial.
- ↑ Ballarat Courier, 03 May 2013.
--Clare K.Gervasoni 16:24, 23 January 2017 (AEDT); --Clare K.Gervasoni 22:20, 30 September 2018 (AEST)