Sergeant William Merrifield

View Attestation Images [2] Attestation record: William Merrifield

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PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name: Merrifield, William

Date of birth: 1890-10-09

Place of birth: Brentwood Essex England

Next of kin: William Merrifield, father. Aylmer Road, Ottawa, Ontario

Marital status: single

Occupation (attested): Fireman

Religion: Roman Catholic

Date of death: 1943-08-08

MILITARY INFORMATION

Regimental number: 8000

Highest Rank: Sergeant (4th Battalion)

Rank detail

Sergeant, 4th Battalion, Infantry (Army).
Private, 2nd Battalion, Infantry (Army). 1914-09-22 ?

Degree of service: Europe

Survived war: yes

Battle wounded/killed: Wounded February 11, 1916, Wounded November 6, 1917 at Passchendaele, Wounded October 2, 1918 at Canal du Nord

Awards

Victoria Cross (Abancourt)
Description: For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty during the attack near Abancourt on the 1st of October 1918. When his men were held up by an intense fire from two machine-gun emplacements he attacked them both single-handed. Dashing from shell-hole to shell-home, 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 again until severely wounded. Sergeant Merrifield has served with exceptional distinction on many former occasions and throughout the action of the 1st October showed the highest qualities of valour and leadership.
Date of award: 1918-10-01
Source: London Gazette No. 31108, January 6, 1919, pg. 308
Comment: On 1 October 1918 at the battle of the Canal du Nord 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.
Notes: The Merrifield VC and accompanying medals were donated to the Canadian War Museum by the Merrifield family in November 2005

Military Medal (Passchendaele)
Description: For conspicuous bravery in the operations at Passchendaele on November 6th-7th 1917. Private Merrifield is a stretcher bearer and accompanied his platoon forward to support the 1st Battalion. Passing through a heavy barrage, he was wounded along with several others of his platoon, but disregarding his own wounds he bandaged five men and got them sent back to the Aid Post, and then carried on, overtook his platoon, and remained until next day, when he was forced to go out to have his injuries properly attended to.
Source: London Gazette No. 30573, dated March 13, 1918, pg. 3252

RESEARCH INFORMATION

LAC ID: 195355

Attestation record(s): image 1, image 2

Service file: B6130-S049

Uploader's Research notes: [Private Army Canadian Infantry 2nd Battalion Sergeant Army Canadian Infantry 4th Battalion B Company Military Medal Passchendaele For conspicuous bravery in the operations at Passchendaele on November 6th-7th 1917. Private Merrifield is a stretcher bearer and accompanied his platoon forward to support the 1st Battalion. Passing through a heavy barrage, he was wounded along with several others of his platoon, but disregarding his own wounds he bandaged five men and got them sent back to the Aid Post, and then carried on, overtook his platoon, and remained until next day, when he was forced to go out to have his injuries properly attended to. Victoria Cross Abancourt For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty during the attack near Abancourt on the 1st of October 1918. When his men were held up by an intense fire from two machine-gun emplacements he attacked them both single-handed. Dashing from shell-hole to shell-home, 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 again until severely wounded. Sergeant Merrifield has served with exceptional distinction on many former occasions and throughout the action of the 1st October showed the highest qualities of valour and leadership. On 1 October 1918 at the battle of the Canal du Nord 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. ]

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Date added: 2011-05-15

Last modified: 2021-07-16