Edward Hickman Tucker Meeson was born on 20th December 1877. He was the only son of Frederick and Emily Meeson, of Eastbourne. He was admitted to the school on 24th April 1890 up Rigaud’s.
After leaving the school in 1891, Meeson began training as an engineer. In 1894 there was a note in the Elizabethan congratulating him on passing into the Royal Navy as Engineer-Student. Between 1894 and 1899, he trained at Keyham and became Engineer Lieutenant on the 1st June 1904.
On the 28th December 1908, Meeson married Gladys May Joy, the elder daughter of George Robert Gordon Joy, and they had a daughter, Margaret. By June 1912, Meeson had been promoted to Engineer Lieutenant-Commander.
In 1914, he served on HMS Laurel in the action in the Heligo­land Bight on the 28thAugust, and was present at the sinking of the Blücher during the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915. He was also at the evacuation of both Anzac and Cape Helles. He was promoted to Commander in recognition of his services on board the Laurel, and was created a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in 1915.
He sank with his ship, HMS Defence, at the Battle of Horn Reef, off Jutland on the 31st May 1916, at the age of 38. His widow Gladys went to Johannesburg, South Africa, where she remarried 5 years later.
