Dieppe survivor’s Victoria Cross donated to the Canadian War Museum
November 26, 2003 — Ottawa, Ontario — In a ceremony held today at the Canadian War Museum (CWM), Lieutenant-Colonel Cecil Ingersoll Merritt’s medals were donated to the Museum by his son, Mr. Cecil Jamieson Merritt. Lt-Col Cecil Merritt, a Victoria Cross recipient, earned his Victoria Cross at the Dieppe raid in August 1942.
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Merritt led the South Saskatchewan Regiment gallantly in the Dieppe raid on August 19, 1942. Nearing Pourville, the men under his command hesitated crossing a bridge that was exposed to German machine-gun fire. With no regard for danger, Merritt strolled out to the centre of the bridge and encouraged his men to cross. He cleared a number of enemy posts with grenades and advanced through Pourville until the order came to withdraw. With an increasingly superior German force pressing in on the beaches where the Canadians were escaping, Merritt stayed behind with 180 men to fight a valiant rearguard action, where he was wounded twice. Eventually, a lack of ammunition forced Merritt and his men to surrender to the German defenders. Merritt became a prisoner of war until his release in 1945. For his astounding resilience and leadership, Merritt was awarded the Victoria Cross.
“The human side of war is what the Canadian War Museum wants to share with our visitors,” said Joe Geurts, Director and CEO of the Canadian War Museum. “Among the most stirring stories we share are the ones related to the courage and spirit of Canada’s Victoria Cross recipients. With the help of important donations such as the medal set belonging to Lt-Col Merritt, history comes to life as we present the human drama behind the artifacts. This medal set will have particular resonance among our visitors — many of whom are familiar with the Dieppe raid, and may not understand or appreciate the bravery and leadership of the Canadians involved.”
The Lieutenant-Colonel Merritt, V.C., medal set consists of the Victoria Cross, the 1939–45 Star, the Defence Medal, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas and Dieppe clasps, the British War Medal 1939–45 with Mentioned-in-Despatches (MID), the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1953, the Canadian Centennial Medal 1967, the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal 1977, the Canada 125th Anniversary Medal and the Efficiency Decoration with Canada Bar. The Victoria Cross is the British Empire’s highest military honour, and was awarded to 94 Canadians from the nineteenth century to the end of the Second World War. Since that time, Canada has had its own military awards, including a Canadian version of the Victoria Cross, established in 1993.
Cecil Merritt will be showcased in Zone 3 of the permanent exhibition, covering the years 1931 to 1945 at the new Canadian War Museum. His Victoria Cross medal group will be on display in an area devoted to telling his and Canada’s role at Dieppe. In Canada’s worst single-day loss of the war, of the 5,000 Canadians participating, 807 died and 1,946 were captured. Another 100 Canadians died in captivity. Only 2,110 returned to Britain.
The new Canadian War Museum is currently under construction on LeBreton Flats in Ottawa, and will open on May 8, 2005.
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Information (Media)
Christina Selin
Senior Communications Officer
Tel.: (819) 776-8607
Fax: (819) 776-8623
mailto:christina.selin@warmuseum.ca
Pierre Leduc
Communications Officer
Tel.: (819) 776-8608
Fax: (819) 776-8623
mailto:pierre.leduc@warmuseum.ca
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