To Employ and Uplift Them

To Employ and Uplift Them is a social and economic history of the Newfoundland branch of the Royal Naval Reserve. Established in 1900, the Newfoundland reserve provided part-time employment to fishermen and trained them to be Royal Navy sailors during war. Imperialists and the Newfoundland government hoped that the unit would alleviate outport unemployment and make Newfoundlanders better subjects. But the system had to contend with the British Treasury Office's scrutiny and the Admiralty's strategic objectives. In the end, Newfoundland reservists filled many roles during World War I, but London's post-war fiscal restraint terminated the Newfoundland reserve in the 1920s.