Vimy 100 Research Paper

On April 29th, the month long exhibition: Law Students and Lawyers at Vimy – We Remember will close in Toronto marking the end of the legal profession’s national Vimy 100 commemoration. Vimy 100 has been the first national remembrance of the remarkable service and leadership of Canada’s legal profession at war. As a longstanding and highly respected member of the legal profession, your prominent participation in Canada and France helped inspire tens of thousands of law students and lawyers, civilian and military, to proudly support their local Vimy 100 events. Because legal professionals serve in every part of Canada, their active participation and leadership has added value to countless community events. I write today to express the gratitude …show more content…
Law deans, law society treasurers and presidents, and law association leaders across Canada seized this opportunity to promote “service and leadership” as personal qualities to value rather than attributes of professional service. The remarkable history of law students and lawyers at war is a compelling example of that principle.

The most senior Canadian military officer ever to die in combat is Malcolm Mercer, a lawyer from Toronto who set aside his successful law practice in 1914 to serve Canada in the early days of WWI. Major-General Mercer commanded the 3rd Canadian Division through the 2nd battle of Ypres and was later killed in action at Mount Sorrel. Mercer’s 3rd Division went on to write history at the battle of Vimy Ridge in April of 1917. Law students from every part of Canada fell at Vimy and thousands of others served along side other Canadians in every military …show more content…
Although he enlisted as a private in the infantry, he was quickly promoted to lieutenant and then Captain. Cartwright was twice wounded and awarded the Military Cross for “courage in the face of the enemy”. When the war ended, he returned to complete his legal studies and to practice law. Captain Cartwright was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1949 and became the 12th Chief Justice of Canada in 1967. Mr. Justice Locke and Chief Justice Cartwright are not the only soldiers to serve on the Supreme Court of

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