Army
Merritt, William G
William G Gutsell
Rank: Private
Regiment: Army Service Corps
Mother-in-Law: Mrs Merrit
Brothers-in-Law: S S Gutsell & S Gutsell
Address: 3 Vale Road, Silverhill
Other Info: In France. Additional name information from the Lives of the First World War website.
Published: September 1915
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William George Merritt of 3 Bell Road [apparently misheard, actually 3 Vale Road], Silver Hill, Hastings, labourer, attested 5 July 1915, London, age 43, in the Army Service Corps. He had married, 25 December 1893, St Matthew’s, St Leonards, Mabel Sinden. In his army records he listed one under age child, Elsie Edith Nellie, born 1903, Bexhill. The newspaper caption is incorrect as he was husband, not son or son in law, to Mrs Merritt.
In the 1911 census at 3 Vale Road he was a general labourer for the council, age 39, born Westfield. Mabel was 36, laundress at home, born Burwash. They had had four children of whom three were at home: Doroth[y ?[, 16, Mabel, 13, and Elsie, 7, all born Hastings.
He was posted to France 19 July 11915. On the 12 February 1918 be became a Private in the Labour Corps. He was missing 22 March 1918, presumably in the German spring offensives, and rejoined 16 April 1918. He was demobilized 12 March 1919.
He died in 1942 in Hastings. What connection was there in the photo between the Gutsells and our soldier ? In the 1921 census for 3 Vale Road the head of household is Fanny Gutsell, age 73 years, widow, born Westfield, with William George Merritt the son in law. Also, when daughter Mabel married in 1920, Sidney Gutsell was a witness. There was an 1885 marriage of Thomas Edward Gutsell to Fanny Sinden, who had married Jonathan Sinden as Tutt in 1873. She was indeed his mother in law, but had remarried. The Gutsell soldiers would then be her younger half-brothers. In that case the caption saying two sons and son in law should really be two half-brothers and husband.