Lieutenant Robert Grierson Combe(1880-1917) He was born in Aberdeen Scotland in 1880 and emigrated to Canada around 1906. He lived in Moosomin for 2 years then moved to Melville to open a drug store and then one in Dubic. In 1914 Combe enlisted and went over seas to Englend with the 53rd Battalion as a major, but accepted a reduction in rank to lieutenant so that he could be assigned to the front line in France where he joined the 27th Battalion (City of Winnipeg) On May 3rd 1917, Combe's battalion was ordered to occupy the German trenches near the town of Acheville, France. The Germans had anticipated an attack, and by the time the Canadians reached a point app. 500 yards from the German lines, Combe was the only officer in his company still alive. Combe and the survivors found themselves caught in an artillery crossfire between the Germans and a barrage from their own guns. Leading 6 of his surviving comrades, he attacked the enemy position, capturing 250 yards of trench and 80 prisoners. Combe was fatally wounded by a sniper's bullet in the final charge.
In 1919, the Prince of Wales presented Lieutenant Combe's Victoria Cross to his widow, Jean Combe, at the Legislative Building in Regina. His portrait hangs in the Peace Tower in Ottawa as well as in the museum in Melville. A lake in northern Saskatchewan and the Melville Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion are named in his honour.
