William Henry Merrett died on October 29th, 1938, at the age of 66.
He received his early education at St. Olave’s School, and was awarded a Royal Exhibition of the Board of Education. In 1891, he began his technical training at the Royal School of Mines and obtained his Associateship in metallurgy (with 1st class honours) in 1894. He then became demonstrator in metallurgy at the Royal School of Mines and in 1896 was appointed assistant in the Research Laboratory of the Royal Mint under Sir William Roberts-Austen, who at the time occupied the Chair of Metallurgy at the School. During the next seven years he assisted Sir William in many important investigations on steel and other metals, including metallographic researches for the Report of the Board of Trade Committee on Steel Rails. He was also associated with M. Osmond and Professor le Chatelier in making the first apparatus, to record the differential cooling of steel, which permitted the practical development of alloy steels.
In 1899 he became senior assistant to Sir Wm. Roberts-Austen and demonstrator again at the Royal School of Mines. He assisted Sir William in research work for the Alloys Research Committee of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and for H.M. Explosive and Ordnance Committees. He also assisted in an investigation into the St. Neots railway disaster for the Board of Trade and the report was subsequently published in extenso as a Blue Book in 1900. In 1901 he was appointed instructor in assaying at the Royal School of Mines, when the School became part of London University. In that year also he was awarded the ‘Edward Matthey’ Prize. In 1911 he was promoted to assistant professor in the Metallurgical Department of the Royal School of Mines, and except for his war service he spent the rest of his career in that capacity.
Professor Merrett joined the Territorial Army when he was only 17 and in July, 1914, he was mobilized with the London Electrical Engineers, R.E., and was promoted to the rank of Major. He was for some time in charge of various coastal defence and anti-aircraft units, and in July, 1918, he was appointed chief instructor at the Ordnance College at Woolwich. After the war, he returned to the Territorial Service and retired when he reached the age limit in 1926. For his services he was awarded the Territorial Decoration and the Long Service Medal. In 1926 he was President of the Royal School of Mines Old Students’ Association and he retired from his teaching in 1937.
He was a member of the Faculty of Engineering and of the Board of Examiners in Mining and Metallurgy of the University of London, and in 1904 he was appointed assistant examiner in metallurgy to the Board of Education. He was also a member of the Board of Governors of the Camborne School of Mines. His published work included several papers relating to original scientific work, including an ‘Alloys Research Summary’ and an article on the practical value of metallography. He was a member of several learned societies, including the Institute of Chemistry, the Chemical Society, the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, the Institution of Electrical Engineers, the Iron and Steel Institute, and the Institute of Metals.
Professor Merrett was elected to Membership of the Institution in 1902, and served on the Council from 1936 until his death.
Vol. 48, Trans IMM 1938-39, pp.837-9
