Malcolm Mercer

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For the Canadian lawyer, see Malcolm M. Mercer.

Malcolm Smith Mercer
First World War
Awards
Companion of the Order of the Bath

poison gas
attacks and heavy shellfire.

Mercer remains the most senior Canadian officer ever to die in combat and was unfortunate to be killed at the opening engagement of the largest battle of his career, when he was trapped by shellfire during a front line reconnaissance and overrun during the subsequent German attack. The division Mercer created and trained remained one of the best units of the

Battle of Mount Sorrel
.

Early years

Mercer was born in September 1859 in Etobicoke, a small town to the west of Toronto in Ontario, Canada.[1] He was the third of nine children to Thomas and Mary Mercer and was raised in Delmer and St Catharines. During his childhood he was educated at local schools and worked on the family farm before enrolling at the University of Toronto in 1881 to study philosophy.[2] He graduated in 1885 and turned his attention to law, being called to the bar three years later. He established a practice in Toronto and had several partners, forming a highly successful but discreet firm which he managed until 1914. Mercer never married or had children and reportedly he was "quiet and unobtrusive. He avoided publicity, moved little in society and in his legal practice preferred to keep his clients out of court, if he could."[2]

During his years in the law, Mercer used his substantial income to support the arts and amassed a large art collection including many pieces by Carl Ahrens, of whom Mercer was a close friend and admirer. This art collection was auctioned off in 1925 and was found to contain a selection of art, porcelain, sculpture and antique furniture from around the globe. Mercer was also a keen amateur painter himself and was also an excellent sportsman who represented Canada and the Canadian Militia in shooting contests both at home and in Britain.[2]

Military service

Mercer's greatest passion however was reserved for the Canadian Militia, which he joined as a student in 1881.

Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the regiment and in 1913, Mercer was aide-de-camp to Defence Minister Sam Hughes during a military tour of Europe, during which he inspected the German Army first-hand and became convinced that war was imminent.[5]

Outbreak of World War

At the outbreak of the

Brigadier-General in command of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade which consisted of the first four battalions of the Expeditionary Force recruited in Ontario.[2][6] Amongst these men his militiamen were dispersed, intended to spread experience and morale amongst the raw recruits. At the end of September, after just under two months training, the brigade departed on the 20-day sea voyage to Britain as the first installment of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.[5]

On arrival at

Richard Turner, VC and Arthur Currie
commanded similar training camps and together the officers prepared their men for departure to France on 9 February 1915.

Second battle of Ypres

Dispatched for the

Companions of the Order of the Bath for their courage and generalship in the action.[7]

During the year the Canadian Contingent was involved in further fighting, assaulting German lines in the unsuccessful battles of

Major-General in command of the 3rd Canadian Division, as this disparate force became.[2][8]

Death at Mount Sorrel

In early June 1916, the Canadian Corps was again posted to trenches around the Belgian town of Ypres. The new commander of the Canadian Corps,

Mount Sorrel and noted that the Canadian troops were overlooked by German positions and under constant danger of enemy fire. The Germans also seemed to be digging new sap trenches which implied that an assault was intended.[9] Byng ordered Mercer to make a reconnaissance of the front line and draw up a plan to overrun the more dangerous German positions in a local attack. Mercer complied on 2 June, conducting a standard inspection of front line Canadian trenches at 08:30.[5]

Shortly after Mercer had arrived in the trenches, a massive German artillery bombardment began, heavy calibre shells destroying trenches and caving in dugouts, killing many Canadian soldiers. Mercer was trapped in a dugout and then stunned by a huge shell burst which wounded most of his staff and the officers of the battalion he was inspecting. The more badly wounded among the officers were transported to an underground field hospital but Mercer was left behind with wounded aide Captain Lynam Gooderham, and so was not present when the hospital was buried by the explosion of four mines which preceded a large-scale German attack.[5] In the confused situation, Mercer and Gooderham attempted to escape the advancing enemy but inadvertently ran into crossfire, where Mercer's leg was broken by a bullet.[9]

Grave at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery

Mercer and Gooderham sheltered from the continued artillery bombardment in a battered trench, both suffering from the effects of their wounds, until 01:00 on 3 June. By this stage of the battle an artillery duel had begun between the armies who were still mixed together, Mercer and Gooderham trapped in between.[9] At approximately 02:00 a shrapnel shell exploded in the trench in which they were hiding, further wounding Gooderham and killing Mercer instantly with shrapnel wounds to the heart. Gooderham stayed with his commanding officer's body until captured by advancing German troops who buried the general's corpse in a shallow grave at Gooderham's request.[9]

The buried field hospital was also captured by the advancing Germans and as a result nobody who knew of the general's whereabouts on the day returned to Allied lines. A staff officer later claimed that the shell which killed Mercer was British in origin, although it is unclear how this conclusion was reached.[5] Believing Mercer to have been captured, General Currie assumed command of the battle and with the use of saturation bombardment was able to retake the lost trenches and drive the Germans back to Mount Sorrel despite heavy casualties.[5]

On 21 June a Canadian burial party found 30 bodies in a sector of trench, amongst them General Mercer's remains, only recognisable by his uniform decoration. Mercer was buried in a military grave at

Commonwealth War Grave headstone.[10]

Mercer's funeral was attended by many men of his Division and from his old regiments as well as numerous Canadian and British officers who had worked alongside him. Mercer was posthumously mentioned in dispatches for his courage under fire,[11] the third time he had been so mentioned, and his division was taken over by Major-General Louis Lipsett who was himself killed in action two years later.[12] Mercer is remembered as an efficient and capable organiser who never got the opportunity to demonstrate the tactical nous he had shown in training and exercises. He also remains the highest ranking Canadian officer to ever be killed in combat[2] and reportedly by friendly fire.[5]

Legacy

General Mercer Public School in Toronto, originally built in 1923, was named after Mercer.[13]

Mount Mercer in Banff National Park, Alberta, is named in his remembrance.[14]

Malcolm Mercer was also an active

West Toronto Junction neighbourhood of Toronto, which was instituted in 1919 and named The General Mercer Lodge in honour of Malcolm Mercer. The General Mercer Lodge remains active to this day, meeting at the same Masonic Temple in West Toronto where Mercer attended Lodge prior to the war.[15]

Notes

  1. ^ Mercer's birth date is disputed. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography claims that he was born in 1859, whilst MacKinnon suggests that he falsified his university records to appear younger than he was and that his real birth date was in September 1856.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mercer, Malcolm Smith, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Retrieved 28 August 2007
  3. ^ Contrary to some sources, Mercer was not involved in suppressing the North-West Rebellion; although he was promoted to lieutenant during the campaign, he remained in Toronto.
  4. ^ Famous Members: Major-General Malcolm Smith Mercer Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Queens Own Rifles of Canada, Retrieved 28 August 2007
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Major-General Malcolm Smith Mercer: The highest ranking Canadian officer killed in the Great War by friendly fire Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Gordon MacKinnon, Canadian Military Journal, Spring 2007, Retrieved 28 August 2007
  6. ^ "No. 29086". The London Gazette. 2 March 1915. p. 2096.
  7. ^ "No. 29202". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 June 1915. pp. 6111–6112.
  8. ^ "No. 29409". The London Gazette. 21 December 1915. p. 12686.
  9. ^ a b c d P.94-96, Bloody Red Tabs, Davies & Maddocks
  10. ^ "Casualty Details: Mercer, Malcolm Smith". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  11. ^ "No. 29964". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 February 1917. p. 2093.
  12. ^ P.82-83, Bloody Red Tabs, Davies & Maddocks
  13. ^ [1], Toronto District School Board, General Mercer Junior Public School (Gr JK - 6), Retrieved 11 March 2012
  14. ^ The Canada Gazette, February 23, 1918, p. 2862
  15. ^ [2][permanent dead link], The General Mercer Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 548, The General Mercer Lodge - About Us, Retrieved 11 March 2012

References

Military offices
Preceded by
New Creation
 General Officer Commanding the 3rd Canadian Division
December 1915 – June 1916 		Succeeded by

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