Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group

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Love shows that the 216th was absorbed by the 3rd Reserve Battalion. The 3rd Reserve Battalion then reinforced the 4th Infantry Battalion (1st Division, 1st Infantry Brigade), the 19th Infantry Battalion (2nd Division 4th Infantry Brigade) and the 2nd and 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles (3rd Division 8th Infantry Brigade).

Meek reports the unit was authorized July 15, 1916, Lieutenant Colonel F. L. Burton commanding. 

Nicholson has no reports on the 216th Infantry Battalion.

From Library and Archives Canada:

216th Infantry Battalion

There is an old link, no longer active tying the 216th Battalion to the Governor General's Horse Guard "Reserve Regiment".  That information is included here pending confirmation of other members as to it's relevance.  I suspect that information is related to the 216th Infantry Battalion as they sent a lot of men to the each of the 4th and 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles.  Here is what was cached on the Internet but no longer available:

The Governor General's Horse Guards is a reserve regiment of volunteer citizen soldiers whose illustrious history dates from 1822 when Capt. G.T. Denison formed a Troop of Dragoons for a local militia infantry battalion. The Denison family, from the town of Weston, commanded and financed the Troop for many generations. In 1839, the Troop became independent of its parent infantry battalion and was named the Governor General’s Body Guard (GGBG) in 1866. George Taylor Denison III expanded the Troop to a Squadron in 1876 and to a Regiment in 1889. Canada’s oldest cavalry troop, the Markham (Button’s) Troop, formed in 1810, was one of the troops amalgamated into the Body Guard to form the Regiment. Today the Regiment proudly perpetuates the history of Button’s Troop that had served so well in General Brock’s Army during the War of 1812.

The Governor General’s Body Guard served in most of the major Canadian conflict of the 19th century. Both Denison’s Troop and Button’s Troop were on active service during the 1837 Rebellion and re-titled the Queen’s Light Dragoons for their good service. Denison’s troop of some sixty volunteers continued to parade during the 1840's and 1850's maintaining an unbroken lineage. In 1866, the troop mobilized to defend Canada from the American Irish Republican Army during the Fenian Raids. The Troop, acting as the advance guard for the Canadian Brigade, chased the Fenian Army from the Niagara Frontier and the town of Fort Erie taking many prisoners. The GGBG, as a Squadron, served as rear area security in the Riel Rebellion for which 26-sep-04 y earned their first battle honour; The Northwest Rebellion 1885. During the Boer War, (1899) the GGBG supplied volunteers to the Canadian Contingent where one of its members, Capt H.Z.C. Cockburn, earned the Victoria Cross and three others Mentioned in Dispatches.

After the Boer War, a new Cavalry Regiment was formed in Toronto later named the Mississauga Horse. During the First World War, both the Mississauga Horse and the GGBG, supplied thousands of volunteers to the Canadian Expeditionary Force in France. After the war, both Regiments were privilege to perpetuate the elite 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles (4th CMR) history and battle honours. The 4th CMR, raised by the GGBG and Mississauga Horse, were 26-sep-04 most heavily decorated Battalions of the Canadian Army, including a Victoria Cross earned by Pte TW Holmes at Passchendale. In 1936, the Mississauga Horse and the GGBG amalgamated to form the Governor General's Horse Guards. The new Regiment activated for overseas duty in 1940, saw action in Italy and subsequently, Northwest Europe, receiving nine battle honours for distinguished performance in World War II.

The Regiment has been serving Canada as a reserve regiment continuously since World War II. It was in 1941 that the regiment lost its horses to become a mechanized regiment of tanks. The Regiment remained Armoured until 1965 when it was tasked as a light Recce Regiment in jeeps. The Regiment converted back to an armoured regiment with the Cougar Armoured Car in 1982. In 1950, the GGHG provided 50 volunteers for duty with the Special Service Force in Korea. Individual volunteers and small groups have served with Canadian NATO contingents in Europe and on peacekeeping operations worldwide. Horse Guards continue to this day to volunteer for service on UN missions augmenting the Regular Army.

The Regiment’s long history and prestigious lineage have made the GGHG the senior Reserve Armoured Regiment in Canada. The Regiment received its first standard in 1938, still the only one in the Canadian Forces. The GGHG has received the Freedom of the Cities of Toronto and York and in 1988, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was gazetted as Colonel-In-Chief. All of the Regiment’s contributions to Canada, it’s colourful history and it’s soldiers have made the Governor General’s Horse Guards “Nulli Secundus” - Second to None.

The Governor General Horse Guards Lineage

Button's Troop - 1810
Denison's Troop - 1822
Governor General's Body Guards - 1866
The Mississauga Horse- 1901
The Governor General's Horse Guards - 1936

Motto:

" Nulli Secundus" - Second to None

Music:

March: Men of Harlech
Trot: Keel Row

Our Affiliated Regiment:

The Royal Canadian Dragoons

Allied With:

The Blues and Royals
(The Royal Horse Guards - 1st Dragoons)
1st the Queen's Dragoon Guards

Perpetuating:

Governor General's Body Guards
4th Canadian Mounted Rifles (C.E.F.)
7th Canadian Mounted Rifles (C.E.F.)
216th Battalion (C.E.F.)
Mississauga Horse