The 2nd Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment), Canadian Expeditionary Force was created in response to the First World War. 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 Cassandra landed at Plymouth on 25 October, where the battalion disembarked and began rigorous training for the European battlefield.