Category: 162nd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, World War I

Categories: Canadian Expeditionary Force, World War I

Nicknamed The Parry Sound Timber Wolves

The Northern Pioneers, or the "23rd Regiment, The Northern Fusiliers" was formed on September 1, 1903. The Department of Militia and Defense authorized the formation in 1903 in order to fill the geographical gap between the 35th Simcoe Foresters in Huntsville and the 97th Algonquin Rifles in Sudbury. The Northern Pioneers headquarters in Parry Sound, embraced Muskoka-Parry Sound and as far north as North Bay. To cover the vast territory the regiment was sub-divided into various companies. Parry Sound, geographically speaking, was not an idealistic military district. Other regiments in more urban centres drilled in armouries throughout the year, the Northern Pioneers would get together in summer months for two-week training periods in regular army bases such as Niagara–on-the-Lake. To get to Parry Sound for the summer camp of 1912, the company from Loring had to travel west for 48 km on a wagon road through the bush to catch a CNR train at Salines (later called Drocourt).

The 162nd (Parry Sound) Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in Parry Sound, Ontario, the unit began recruiting in late 1915 in that city. After sailing to England in November 1916, the battalion was absorbed into the 3rd and 4th Reserve Battalions on January 4, 1917. The 162nd Battalion, CEF had one Officer Commanding: Lieut-Col. J. M. Arthurs.

The Northern Pioneers came back into existence after the war and remained in existence until 1936 when it was absorbed into the Algonquin Regiment, based out of North Bay.

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Person Profiles (3)

11 Dec 1893 - 05 Jun 1933
09 Mar 1893 Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States - 15 Apr 1947
06 Aug 1869 Clarendon, Pontiac County, Quebec - 29 Dec 1946




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