British Columbia

The city of Merritt, British Columbia, was previously known as Forksdale, but renamed in 1906 in honour of soldier and mining engineer William Hamilton Merritt III.

Born in 1855, Merritt joined the Governor General’s Body Guard (previously known as the Governor General’s Horse Guards) in 1882 and deployed during the 1885 Northwest Rebellion. Following his return to Toronto, he was granted permission to join a British cavalry regiment in Egypt and then proceeded to South Africa where he was appointed squadron commander in the 1^st Regiment, Brabant’s Horse and later second in command of the 2^nd Regiment, during the South African War. Having returned to Canada, he was appointed second in command of the newly formed 2^nd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles in 1901. He once again sailed for South Africa in early 1902 and returned to Canada with his regiment at the end of the conflict. During the period prior to the First World War, he remained active in military circles, serving at various times as president of the Canadian Military Institute and the Canadian Cavalry Association and was instrumental in the creation of the Canadian Defence League. Due to his advanced age (59), he was unable to serve during the First World War, but continued his support of military matters by offering to outfit a unit, establishing the Canadian Aviation Fund to promote the creation of a Canadian military aviation service and purchasing and providing two aircraft to Britain. He died of influenza in 1918 and was buried with full military honours.

The land surrounding Commando Bay is a heritage site (Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park) and on September 1988, a bronze plaque was erected in honour of the agents of Force 136 who trained there. This Second World War training camp was used by Britain's Special Operations Executive to train Chinese-Canadians to work as secret agents in Southeast Asia.

Thirteen of these soldiers selected for Operation Oblivion learned special skills at this site. This mission involved dropping Allied secret agents behind enemy lines in East Asia to help fight Japanese forces there.

While Operation Oblivion would be cancelled, some of these soldiers took part in other similar special forces efforts in East Asia. The missions were so dangerous that the odds of agents surviving were low. Luckily, however, the soldiers honoured on this plaque returned home after the war. Four of them earned the Military Medal for their great courage. In some ways, Chinese Canadian Veterans were responsible for a double victory. They helped the Allies win the Second World War and also proved their patriotism, which later helped earn them the right to vote.

The camp opened on March 24, 1944 and students were trained in wireless operation, small arms, demolition, unarmed combat, sabotage, survival techniques, propaganda and other skills of a covert operative. It closed in September 1944 and since it was a tented camp, nothing remains today.

This site is abandoned, but can be accessed by boat.

Needs further research

The upper hall in the branch building is named the Lloyd Carleton Memorial Hall in memory of a veteran and life member of the branch.

Needs further research

Erected by Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 227, this memorial is dedicated to the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War. The Memorial Rose Garden was instituted by the Robert Pearce families in 1928.

Needs further research

Erected by the District of Peachland, this memorial is dedicated to local war dead.

Erected by the city and citizens of Penticton in November 1951, this memorial arena is dedicated to the local veterans and war dead. A metal plaque is located on the east wall of the main entrance to mark the memorial status of this building.