Lieutenant Colonel Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merrit (1908-2000) was born in Vancouver in 1908. He was educated at Lord Roberts School, Vancouver, University School, Victoria and at the Royal Military College in Kingston Ontario. He was an officer since 1929 in the Vancouver Regiment and in 1942 was transferred to the South Saskatchewan Regiment.
He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his acts of gallantry and leadership during the Dieppe Raid in France. The first landing parties were all but wiped out and Merrit lead his Regiment and the surviving soldiers from the other parties over a bridge heavily guarded by machine gun fire. Held up by pill boxes, he again led a rush taking them out. Although twice wounded, he continued to lead his men and when last seen he was gathering up Bren guns and Tommy guns to prepare for another assault.
Merrit was captured and held as a prisoner of war until he was liberated in 1945. He returned to Vancouver and served as a member of parliament from 1945 to 1949. In 1951 he was appointed commanding officer of the Seaforth Highlanders.
