The Germans, however, were not thinking just then of retaking Vimy Ridge, but of pushing through to Paris along the line of least resistance, which, judging by the progress they were making, was around the front of the Fifth Army, the “Fighting Fifth,” as they were afterwards called.
From the Méricourt front we were moved up north of Lens, and having put up with a lot of shelling and other annoyances from the Bosch, it was decided to take revenge by means of a stealth raid. “B” and “C” Companies each sent out a party consisting of one officer and twenty O.R’s. “B” Company’s party, under Lt. Dunlop, encountered the enemy in Nun’s Alley Sap, where a tough fight took place before the Germans were finally overcome. Several of them threw up their hands as if to surrender and Lance-Corporal Hayward ran forward to secure these prisoners; instead of surrendering they seized Hayward, who had the greatest difficulty in extricating himself from their grip.
On the 30th of April the battalion moved away from the line, and with the other units of the Canadian Corps, became part of Foch’s famous reserve, which was later to play such a prominent part in the final overthrow of the entire German Army. And so, during many days of glorious summer weather, and under the careful and expert guidance of Lt.-Col. G. R. Pearkes, V.C., the little old “Umpty Umps” made preparations for the future. It was during this period that we received the sad news of the death of Colonel Sam Sharpe in Montreal, on the 25th May.
One of the Original Orders received by the Battalion, during a Tour in the Trenches opposite Mericourt
There is, perhaps, no more glorious monument to the memory of this gallant soldier than his letter written “in the Field” on October 21st, 1917, just before the battle of Passchendaele, in which he said: “If it should be my fate to be among those who fall, I wish to say I have no regrets to offer. I have done my duty as I saw it, and have fought in defence of those principles upon which our great Empire is founded, and I die without any fears as to the ultimate destiny of all that is immortal within me.”