2nd Canadian Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment), CEF

2nd (Ontario Regiment) Battalion
The distinguishing patch of the 2nd Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment), CEF.
Active	1914-1919
Country	Canada
Branch	Canadian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Battalion
Battle honours	Ypres and along the Western Front.

The 2nd Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment), Canadian Expeditionary Force was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Army created in response to outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. The battalion comprised local militia in many regions of Ontario (and even from Quebec City). Men came from as far away as Sault Ste. Marie to join in Canada’s military endeavor. Local militia gathered at Valcartier, in August 1914 and became part of the 2nd Battalion.

The original officers were drawn from the various regiments that recruited for the battalion, including the Governor General's Foot Guards of Ottawa, the 16th Prince Edward Regiment, the 40th Northumberland Regiment, the 41st Brockville Rifles, and the 42nd Regiment (Lanark and Renfrew), among others.

The battalion boarded the S.S. Cassandra from Quebec City on 22 September 1914, but sailed only as far as the Gaspé Basin, where more troops were collected. The battalion finally left the Gaspé Basin on 3 October as part of a convoy of at least 30 other ships, carrying a combined 32,000 Canadian soldiers, which would be the first of the Canadian infantry contributions to the war.

The Cassandra landed at Plymouth on 25 October, where the battalion disembarked and began rigorous training for the European battlefield.

On 8 February 1915, the battalion was mobilized for war. They sailed out of England aboard the S.S. Blackwell, bound for France. The battalion’s first taste of battle came later that month, on 19 February, when they entered the trench system at Armentières.