Melvill served in India, as a lieutenant in the 73rd regiment[3] in the war against Hyder Ali's forces.
[1] On his return to England in 1797, he was appointed the commander of an invalid company based on Guernsey, where he married Elizabeth Dobrée.
They had nine children:[4] In 1807, Melvill founded the Falmouth Misericordia Society "for the relief of poor strangers and distressed persons of the town".
"Our readers will perceive, by an advertisement in our third page, that an exhibition and sale of fancy work, in aid of the Misericordia Society, is to be held at Falmouth on Tuesday next.
This valuable society deserves the support of a Christian public - its funds are dispensed by ladies, who themselves visit the abodes of poverty - enquire into the causes of the distress, and alleviate as far as possible the sufferings they witness."