162nd (Parry Sound) Battalion, CEF

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, 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).

When the regiment was first activated it was under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Knifton who first came to Parry Sound 1895 as the new town clerk. He had 24 years of militia experience with the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and another nine years with the 36th Peel Regiment. Lieutenant Colonel J.B. Miller was promoted Lieutenant Colonel to command the regiment on 15 September 1909. Miller was the President of the Parry Sound Lumber Company and was appointed Commanding Officer following the retirement of Knifton.

Lieutenant-Colonel Knifton commissioned Duncan F. Macdonald to create a badge to represent the regiment. He tried to combine northern objects into the badge; a canoe is recognizable in the final product.

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