Alfred Nelson Sharpe signature

On this day in 1915, Alfred Nelson Sharpe signed up in Deseronto (he was the first person to sign up in the town itself). He was born in Deseronto on April 25th, 1897, the son of Philip Sharpe and Sarah (née Smith). Alfred married Emmeline Mary Greatrix in Belleville on March 6th, 1915.

Sharpe joined the 155th Battalion with the regimental number 636181. He was five feet six inches tall, with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. His service record shows that he was initially discharged in Kingston as medically unfit on October 5th, 1916: he was suffering from a painful varicocele, but refused to undergo an operation. He enlisted again in Toronto on January 30th, 1917 but was again discharged as medically unfit in August, this time because he had chronic appendicitis and again, refused to be operated upon.

Alfred left Canada for the United States in 1922. He died in Los Angeles on December 17, 1971.