Details
Merrifield was a native of Brentwood, Essex, England, who had emigrated to Canada for employment. He enlisted in the 2nd Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) on 23 September 1914 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 battle of Passchendaele in November of that year.
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.
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.
After being discharged in April 1919, William Merrifield moved to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario where a school is named after him in recognition of his service to his country.
William Merrifield died in Toronto, Ontario on 8 August 1943, and is buried in West Korah Cemetery, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
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