Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt, V.C. was born on November 10, 1908 in Vancouver, British Columbia. His father, Captain C. M. Merritt, was killed in the second Battle of Ypres, on April 23, 1915. After graduating from the Royal Military College of Canada, H1866 in 1929, Merritt studied law and became a barrister in 1932. Merritt served as an officer in the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada. At the outbreak of war, Merritt was promoted to the rank of Major. In March 1942, Merritt assumed command the South Saskatchewan Regiment, which he led in the Dieppe raid on August 19, 1942. Before being taken as a prisoner of war, Merritt was wounded twice. For his bravery and leadership under fire, Merritt was awarded the Victoria Cross. The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), is the military academy of the Canadian Forces and is a full degree-granting university. ... Victoria Cross medal, ribbon, and bar. ...

The Lt-Col Merritt, V.C., medal set, which 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 was donated to the Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Canada. ...

Afer taking his release in 1945, Merritt served as a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1948 and resumed his law practice in Vancouver. From 1951 until 1954, he was commanding officer of the Seaforth Highlanders. In 1937, he married Grace Graham and had two sons and a daughter. Merritt died at the age of 91 in Vancouver on July 12, 2000.