Lt-Col. Samuel Simpson Sharpe , M.P. (March 13, 1873 – May 25, 1918) was a lawyer, political figure, and soldier from

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He represented

Ontario North Ontario North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1925. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867. The North Riding of Ontario init ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1909 to 1917 as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

and from 1917 to 1918 as a Unionist Party member. From 1916 until his death, he served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

while on active duty with the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

. Along with

George Harold Baker George Harold Baker (November 4, 1877 – June 2, 1916) was a lawyer, political figure, and soldier from Quebec, Canada. He represented Brome in the House of Commons of Canada from 1911 to 1916 as a Conservative Member of Parliament. He is th ...

, he is one of only two sitting Canadian MPs to die on military service.

Early life

He was born in Zephyr, Ontario, the son of George Sharpe, a native of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and Mary Ann Simpson, a native of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Sharpe was educated in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

, at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgoode, ...

, graduating in 1895. In 1903, he married Mabel E. Crosby, a granddaughter of Joseph Gould. Sharpe practised law in Uxbridge and was town solicitor for 10 years. Prior to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Sharpe served as a member of the 34th Ontario Regiment, joining at age sixteen and eventually achieving the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. His brother

William Henry Sharpe William Henry Sharpe (April 19, 1868 – April 19, 1942) was a Canadian merchant and political figure in Manitoba, Canada. He represented Lisgar in the House of Commons of Canada from 1908 to 1915 as a Conservative. Sharpe sat for Manitou di ...

served in the House of Commons and Senate.

Political career

Sharpe was elected as the

for

in the 1908 federal election, representing the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. He was re-elected in

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

. After the 1911 election, Prime Minister

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...

considered Sharpe for the position of

Minister of Militia and Defence The Minister of Militia and Defence was the federal government minister in charge of the volunteer army units in Canada, the Canadian Militia. From 1855 to 1906, the minister was responsible for Canadian militia units only, as the British Army wa ...

, before deciding on

Sam Hughes Sir Samuel Hughes, (January 8, 1853 – August 23, 1921) was the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence during World War I. He was notable for being the last Liberal-Conservative cabinet minister, until he was dismissed from his cabinet post ...

. Sharpe later clashed with Hughes in Parliament over militia policy and the Minister's abrasive personal style. During the 1917 election, Sharpe ran for the Unionist Party. He was elected ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

'', as he was at the time serving overseas with the

First World War

On the outbreak of the First World War, Sharpe was initially passed over for a command position and was not part of the First Contingent of the

that deployed overseas in 1914. Sharpe considered his past conflict with Minister Hughes as the reason he was overlooked, and expressed concern that this would affect his reputation. In November 1915, Sharpe was authorized by Hughes to raise a battalion from Ontario County. This led to the creation of the

116th Battalion (Ontario County), CEF The 116th Battalion (Ontario County), CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the Great War. History The battalion was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 23 July 1916. From October to Decembe ...

, with many members drawn from the 34th Regiment and several personally recruited by Sharpe. Sharpe used his political influence to ensure that the 116th was kept together as a unit in Europe and not dispersed to reinforce existing units. The Battalion arrived in England in the summer of 1916 and, following training, was deployed to the front in France in February 1917. Sharpe commanded the Battalion in action, beginning with the

Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions o ...

in April 1917. Subsequent actions included an attack at

Avion Avion may refer to: * Avion, the French and Spanish name for airplane (powered fixed-wing aircraft); coming from Latin "avis" (bird). Same family as "aviation" ** Avion II and Avion III by Clément Ader * Avion (band) * Avion (car) * Avion, Pas-de ...

in preparation for the

Battle of Hill 70 The Battle of Hill 70 took place in the First World War between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France b ...

, and the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

. Sharpe began to struggle with the impact of his military service. In October 1917, he wrote to Muriel Hutchison, the widow of Lieutenant Thomas Hutchison. Sharpe had served with Hutchison in the 34th Regiment before the war, and was present when he was injured by a shell blast, administering first aid to him. In his letter to Muriel, Sharpe said:

It is awful to contemplate the misery and suffering in this old world, and were I to allow myself to ponder over what I have seen and what I have suffered thro icthe loss of the bravest and best in the world, I would soon become absolutely incapable of 'carrying on'.

In December 1917, Sharpe returned to England for a senior officer's course. Early the next year he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

. A short time after receiving the award, he was hospitalized with a diagnosis of "general debility". In May 1918, Sharpe returned to Canada on convalescent leave. En route back to Uxbridge with his wife, he was hospitalized at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

's Royal Victoria Hospital for

nervous shock In English law, a nervous shock is a psychiatric / mental illness or injury inflicted upon a person by intentional or negligent actions or omissions of another. Often it is a psychiatric disorder triggered by witnessing an accident, for example a ...

Death and legacy

On May 25, 1918, Sharpe died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, jumping from a hospital window to his death. Due to the stigma surrounding suicide and mental illness, Sharpe's history was largely forgotten in Canada for almost 100 years. Sharpe's name was included in the Great War Memorial at the

Law Society of Ontario The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; frenc ...

's library in

. In 2014, Member of Parliament

Erin O'Toole Erin Michael O'Toole (born January 22, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Durham since 2012. A member of the Conservative Party, O'Toole served as the party's leader and the leader of the Official ...

and Senator

Romeo Dallaire Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy '' Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a pri ...

inaugurated the Lieutenant Colonel Sam Sharpe Veterans Mental Health breakfast to showcase veterans’ mental health issues and to recognize those "who have sought help for their operational stress injuries and are leading productive lives." In 2016, a bronze plaque including the likeness of Sharpe by sculptor Tyler Briley acknowledging Sharpe's service as an MP and soldier was commissioned for installation in the

Centre Block The Centre Block (french: Édifice du Centre) is the main building of the Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of members ...

of Canada's Parliament. The plaque was unveiled in the foyer of the House of Commons on November 7, 2018. In 2019 the Durham Regional was renamed the Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel S. Sharpe, DSO, MP Courthouse.

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharpe, Samuel S Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs University of Toronto alumni 1873 births 1918 deaths People from Uxbridge, Ontario Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian military personnel killed in World War I Suicides by jumping in Canada Canadian military personnel from Ontario Canadian politicians who committed suicide 1918 suicides Ontario Regiment