William Merrifield
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William Merrifield VC, MM (9 August 1892- 8 August 1943) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
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[edit] Details
Sgt. William Merrifield was a native of England, who had emigrated to Canada for employment. He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) on the outbreak of First World War and in 1917, at 27 years of age, was transferred to 4th (Central Ontario) Battalion, CEF, as a replacement. He went on to win the Military Medal (MM) for his conduct during the horrendous battle of Passchendaele in November of that year.
On 1 October 1918 at the Battle of Abancourt in France, only a month before the Armistice, Sergeant Merrifield was trapped with his comrades under the fire of two German machine-gun posts. Merrifield gathered up bombs (grenades) and single-handedly attacked and destroyed the two machine guns. Dashing from shell-hole to shell-hole he killed the occupants of the first post and, although wounded, continued to attack the second post and with a bomb killed the occupants. He refused to be evacuated and led his platoon until he was again severely wounded. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroic actions.
The 4th (Central Ontario) Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force is perpetuated today by The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI), which contributed the majority of the soldiers to the unit.
[edit] The medal
The medal is still possessed by the Merrifield family, however there is a small display at the William Merrifield VC Armouries in Brantford, Ontario, Canada featuring a reproduction medal.
-JLTC
According to CanWest News Service the Merrifield VC and accompanying medals were donated to the Canadian War Museum by the Merrifield family in November 2005.
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[edit] References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- VCs of the First World War - The Final Days 1918 (Gerald Gliddon, 2000)
