Samuel S. Sharpe was born in Zephyr, in the Ontario Scott Township, in March 1873. He became a lawyer and was elected to the House of Commons in 1908, 1911, and in 1917. A man of high energy and enthusiasm, he raised the first county unit for overseas and then a full battalion in 1916, the 116th Ontario County Battalion, which became somewhat jocularly known later as the "Umpty Umps." A long-serving militia man, second-in-command of the 34th Regiment of Ontario County, he became the Commander of the 1145 men of the 116th Battalion, which he helped to raise and train from October 1915 to May 1916. Amid the admiration of some and the sneers of those who thought he was just another political soldier who would keep himself dry and safe in the war effort, Sharpe accompanied his men overseas. He served for almost two years at the front, leading his men at Vimy and Passchendaele, among other battles. He was decorated with a D.S.O. (Distinguished Service Order).