Harry Sharpe signature

On this day in 1916, Harry Sharpe joined the army in Deseronto. He was born in Deseronto on March 19th, 1889, the son of Philip Sharpe and Sarah (née Smith). He married Flossie Milligan on March 10th, 1911 in Napanee and was working as a baker, when he enlisted. His younger brother Alfred Nelson Sharpe had signed up on the previous day.

Like his brother, Harry joined the 155th Battalion. His regimental number was 636183. Harry was described as having a dark complexion, with black eyes and black hair. His service record shows that he arrived in England on October 28th, 1916 on the SS Northland. He joined the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles in France on December 29th, 1916 and a week later was admitted to hospital suffering from deafness. He was discharged back to duty on January 17th, 1917. In February he was in hospital again, with a hernia, and was sent to England in March for an operation to repair it. He was discharged in June and transferred to the 8th Reserve Battalion.

The hernia recurred in 1918 and Sharpe returned to Canada on the SS Carmania on December 30th, 1918. He was discharged in Toronto on January 29th, 1919 as being medically unfit for further service. In 1921, he was living with Flossie and their three children in Fourth Street, Deseronto. He left Canada for Detroit on April 30th, 1924. Harry’s great-neice, Sharon Sharpe, tells us that he was murdered in America during the 1920s.