228th Battalion (Northern Fusiliers), CEF
The 228th (Northern Fusiliers) Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in North Bay, Ontario, the unit began recruiting in early 1916 in Nipissing and Sudbury. After sailing to England in December 1916, the battalion became the 6th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops. The 228th (Northern Fusiliers) Battalion, CEF had one Officer Commanding: Lieut-Col. A. Earchman.
The battalion established an ice hockey team, which played in the 1916–17 NHA season. The squad, playing in their khaki military uniforms, proved very popular, and was third in league standings with a 6–4 record when they dropped out of the league upon being ordered overseas. A scandal arose when hockey stars Eddie Oatman and Gordon Meeking were discharged, both subsequently claiming they had been paid bonuses and promised commissions to play hockey for the 228th.
References
- Meek, John F. Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971.