SOLDIER DETAILS:
Merrett,
Roland
Alec (DCM)
Sergeant 43rd Battalion 737046
August 16, 1918
Vimy
Memorial, Vimy, France
Son of Joseph and Sarah Merrett, Oak Street, Milton
Maple
Leaf Legacy Project
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Victoria Park Cenotaph
R. Laughton
Vimy Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves
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Sergeant Merrett
is remembered on the Victoria Park Cenotaph, Milton ON
as "Merritt". Legal records pertaining to his
name refer to "Merrett", including the
signature on his will.
Sergeant
Merrett's name is inscribed, along with other Milton
men, on the Vimy Memorial. He was lost in the Battle of
Amiens and his body not recovered.
Milton
Soldiers at Vimy (Google
Earth)
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SOLDIER SUMMARY:
| Sergeant Merrett was the son of Joseph and Laura
Merrett of Milton, Ontario. In some locations the name is also
spelled "Merritt". Roland Merrett was living in Alberta at the time, he attested
to the 113th Infantry Battalion (Lethbridge
Highlanders) on May 12, 1916. He was transferred to the 17th
Reserve Battalion in England on October 8, 1916 and taken on
strength to the 43rd Battalion (3rd Division, 9th Infantry
Brigade) on October 24, 1916. He was promoted from Private to
Corporal on January 1, 1918 and to Sergeant on May 14, 1918. He was unfortunately killed in action during Canada's final
hundred days, prior to taking leave to gain an officer's
commission.
Sergeant Merrett was killed in action during the Battle of
Amiens, on the afternoon of August 18, 1918. He was posthumously
awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry and
distinguished service in the field on August 8, 1918 (London
Gazette #31128).
The 43rd Battalion played an active roll in the "Canadian
Independent Force". A narrative of the action of the 43rd
Battalion is contained in the Wary Diary Appendix
B (continued here
and here)
in the area of Bois-en-Equerre and the Village of Damery.
They were acting in support of a strong French offensive. Heavy
shelling and machine gun fire was met as they advanced on
Fresnoy. On that day the 43rd Cameron Highlanders casualties were
9 officers and 159 other ranks, including 1 officer and 14
ORs killed in action, as well as 31 missing, one of which was
Sergeant Merrett. |
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The soldier pages contain information
that is available from a number of resources. The following hyperlinks
are active where the information is available:
The summary of the service is taken from
the soldier's service records, if they were available from Library and
Archives Canada. A complete copy of the service record is
available in electronic and paper format in the Alex
Cooke Memorial Archives at the Milton Historical Society.
Using that summary, combined with the key references, a summary of the
events leading up to the death of the soldier has been prepared.
The research information available is as noted on the Canadian
Expeditionary Force Study Group web site Matrix
Project as well as in the Library and Archives Canada On-Line
War Diaries.
A summary of all the soldiers is
contained on the Web Blog "Great
War Soldiers of Milton, Ontario CANADA". Please also
be sure to purchase your own copy of "Milton
Remembers World War I - The Men and Women We Never Knew" by
John Challinor II and Jim Dills, edited by Ken Lamb. |
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