Fonds APL 276 - The Newfoundland Ranger Force, Battle Harbour Station, fonds.

The Newfoundland Ranger Force, modelled after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was formed in 1934 following recommendations from the Brian Dunfield, Deputy Minister of Justice. This new organization would operate from detachments in remote areas while the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary would continue as the regualar police force in the larger towns of the Avalon and Bonivista peninsulas.
As its inception of The Newfoundland Ranger Force was placed under the Department of Natural Resources because the Rangers were to act as game wardens, and also because Justice was a relatively miner portfolio in 1935. The First Chief Ranger was Major Leonard T. Stick, an officer of the Newfoundland Regiment and a veteran of the Battles of Beaumont Hamel and Gallipoli.
The Rangers never numbered more than 72 men at any one time. Recruits were to have a minumum education of Grade XI, making the force somewhat exclusive for Newfoundlanders in the mid 1930s. Trainees were to be in top physical condition, not less than 5'9" in height or more than 189 pounds, single and between the ages of 21 and 28.
Rangers were to be responsible for carrying out the policies of no fewer than six government departments. The department of finance required that they collect custom duties and other fees and act as work commissioners. For the Department of Natural Resources they were responsible for the inspection of the logging camps, the enforcement of game laws, the issuing of licences and organizing and directing the fighting of forest fires. Rangers also acted for
Public Health and Welfare by issuing relief payments, arranging medical treatment and hospitalization when necessary and escorting mental patients to Hospital in St. John's. They enforced criminal law, investigated suspicious deaths and fires in some areas acted as deputy sheriffs for the Department of Justice. For home affairs and Education they acted as truant officers and organized adult education programs. For the Department of Public Utilities, Rangers supervised the maintenence and construction of public roads, wharves and break waters. The Force was effectively a liaison between outports residents and the government which, during Commision Government, acted without political accountability.
The first 30 recruits were sent to Detachments across the Island from Twillingate to Bonne Bay, and Labrador from Hebron to Cartwright. They were given rations for their stay and those going to Labrador were given buillding materials to construct their detachment quarters. Though the first recruits did not finish training until the fall of 1935, by spring of 1936 only the Hebron detachment was still under construction. Transportation of each detachment was on foot, by dog sled or in small boats.
The Rangers were received with mixed feelings into communities which had never been policed and where game and liquor laws were unpopular. The Rangers, who for the most part, had no previous experience in the north, were plagued by loneliness and cultural differences and this presented some problems. The criminal offences that the Rangers dealt with were minor, usually involving liquor and game infractions, common assult and petty theft. As peacekeepers, The Rangers tried to settle problems short of criminal prosecution.
With the outbreak of World War II, some Rangers Joined the Armed forces overseas and shortly after that an order was passed declaring the Rangers and Essential service. The War brought many new duties to the Force including assisting magistries in recruiting others for military service, returned deserters, and enforcing rationing and blackout orders. They also watched for enemy submarines and aircraft in coastal settlements. By 1945, there were nine detachments of the Rangers in Labrador.
Following confederation, the Province decided to dispense with the Ranger Force. They officially disbanded on July 31, 1950 and some of the Rangers joined the RCMP. Former members have helped to preserve the history of the organization through the Newfoundland Ranger Force Association, which was formed in 1968.