Kerr Road was dedicated to Private John Chipman Kerr by the Canada Lands Company on May 12, 2005, as part of their redevelopment of Edmonton’s former Canadian Forces Base (Griesbach Barracks).
Born in Fox River, Nova Scotia, Kerr homesteaded in Alberta’s Peace River district before the war. He enlisted in 1915 and served with the 49th Battalion. In September 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, the Canadian Corps assaulted a two-kilometre front near Courcelette, France. During a shelling attack on September 16, Private Kerr noted that the supply of shells was running short. Under heavy fire, Kerr ran along the top of the parados (a mound of earth that protects a trench) until he was in close contact with the enemy. He then opened fire at point-blank range, inflicting heavy losses. His German opponents believed they were surrounded, and they surrendered. Kerr’s bravery yielded 62 prisoners and 250 yards of trench. Several of Kerr’s fingers had been blown off earlier in the day, but he did not have his wound dressed until he and two other men had escorted the prisoners to a support trench and then reported back for duty. Kerr was awarded the Victoria Cross for his act of bravery.
At the beginning of the Second World War, Kerr joined the Army once more, later transferring to the Royal Canadian Air Force. He died in Port Moody, British Columbia on 19 February 1963. In 1951 Mount Kerr, a 2,600-metre peak in the Rocky Mountains, was named after him.
