Percy Menzies

Percy Menzies was born April 26, 1888, in Aylmer, Quebec (now Gatineau), Canada and subsequently moved to Ottawa, Ontario,[1] where his father worked as an Engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

In a letter to his sister shortly after the event he wrote "The Colonel and the Brigadier recommended me for the Military Cross, for a little moonlight serenade I had on the Somme.

During the attack on Vimy Ridge on 9 April 1917, Acting Major Menzies was in command of C Company, and along with the rest of the 4th CMR was tasked with achieving an objective on the German trench system.

Each battalion in the 8th Brigade was to attack in four company-sized waves with the final objective three-quarters of a mile beyond La Folie Farm and the German 3rd line of forward defences.

Writing home to his brother Garnet shortly after the battle he wrote "I continued to walk along the trench and on the flank met Cliff Pierce, an officer in A Company, whom I knew at Queen's and whom I liked very much.

[5] For his efforts on Vimy Ridge, Menzies was awarded the Military Cross: “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.

He showed great resource and initiative in keeping touch with other units, establishing strong advanced posts, and in personally patrolling his 500 yards of frontage, and it was largely owing to his personal efforts that hostile counter-attacks were repelled.”[6] In June 1917, while his company was deployed in the lines and running protective patrols around Hill 70, he was wounded by shellfire.