On July 1, 1898, five independent rifle companies were authorized¹ in the British Columbia interior towns of Kamloops, Kaslo, Nelson, Revelstoke and Rossland.  These units were known by their location (e.g. "Nelson Rifle Company") until January 1, 1900, when the "Rocky Mountain Rangers" were authorized² as a corps consisting of numbered, independent companies.  There was no 'regimental headquarters' for this unit.   The companies were located in:

No. 1      - Rossland

No. 2      - Nelson

No. 3      - Kamloops

No. 4      - Kaslo

No. 5      - Revelstoke

In 1904 the "Kootenay Rifles" were authorized³ with two independent companies (No. 1 and No. 2) - both located in Fernie.

MAP: BC Militia Units circa 1905

On April 1,1908, the organization of an additional company of infantry in Nelson was authorized and this unit was amalgamated with the three southern independent companies of Rocky Mountain Rangers to form the "102nd Regiment".⁴  This unit's headquarters was established in Nelson⁵ and it incorporated the following:  

A Company	Rossland
B Company	Nelson
C Company	Nelson (this company was  created on April 1,1908)
D Company	Kaslo

NOTE:      Originally, C Company was to be in Kaslo with D Company in Nelson.⁶ However, these titles were changed⁷ as reflected in the sequence listed above

At the same time, the Rocky Mountain Rangers were reduced to the two northern independent companies in Kamloops and Revelstoke; they continued to be respectively known as "C Company" and "E Company".⁸

On April 1,1908, two independent squadrons of "Canadian Mounted Rifles" were authorized:⁹ "A" Squadron in Kamloops and "B" Squadron in Vernon.¹⁰

On June 1, 1908, an independent "Company of Infantry" was authorized in Armstrong.¹¹

MAP: BC Militia Units circa 1908

In 1909, the "102nd Regiment, Rocky Mountain Rangers", in addition to this name change¹² on June 1, was expanded to six companies.¹³  The regimental headquarters continued to be in Nelson, and the companies were located in the following towns:

A Company	Rossland
B Company	Nelson
C Company	Nelson
D Company	Kaslo
E Company	Kamloops (formerly C Company, Rocky Mountain Rangers)
F Company	Revelstoke (formerly E Company,  Rocky Mountain Rangers)

In 1910 the Canadian Mounted Rifles became the "British Columbia Horse"¹⁴ and were later expanded to four independent squadrons.¹⁵  The two new squadrons authorized on April 1,1910, "C" and "D", were located in Coldstream and Lower Nicola, respectively.¹⁶

In April 1,1911, the British Columbia Horse was authorized an increase to eight independent squadrons, in order to form two four-squadron regiments.¹⁷ The regiments were designated on December 1, 1911, as "1st and 2nd Regiments, 'British Columbia Horse'"¹⁸ Initially 1st  Regiment, 'British Columbia Horse' included the four existing squadrons¹⁹ but on March 1, 1912,²⁰ they were divided between the two new units.  1st and 2nd Regiments, 'British Columbia Horse' were re-designated again on April 15, 1912,²¹ with the following organizations:

30th Regiment, British Columbia Horse

Regimental Headquarters	Vernon
A Squadron	Lumby (org April 1, 1911)
B Squadron	Vernon (org April 1, 1908)
C Squadron	Armstrong (org April 1, 1910, in Coldstream)
D Squadron	Kelowna (org April 1, 1911)

31st Regiment, British Columbia Horse²²

Regimental Headquarters	Merritt
A Squadron	Kamloops (org April 1, 1908)
B Squadron	Salmon Arm (org April 1, 1911)
C Squadron	Wallachin23 (org April 1,  1911)
D Squadron	Merritt (org April 1, 1910, in Lower Nicola)

On March 1, 1912, the independent Company of Infantry in Armstrong became "G Company, 102nd Regiment, Rocky Mountain Rangers".²⁴  Later that year, on 01 May 1912, five of this regiment's companies were "...disbanded with a view to their re-organization...".²⁵ These companies were "A" (Rossland), "B", "C" (both in Nelson), "D" (Kaslo) and "F" (Revelstoke).  In the end two additional companies were authorized²⁶ and the regimental headquarters was transferred from Nelson to Kamloops.²⁷ There was also a redesignation of companies²⁸ with the end result being:

A Company	Kamloops
B Company	Kamloops
C Company	Armstrong
D Company	Revelstoke

In 1912, the two companies of Kootenay Rifles in Fernie were disbanded.²⁹

On April 1, 1913, an independent "Company of Sharpshooters" was authorized in Grand Forks³⁰ but was included in the Militia Lists as an "Independent Company of Rifles".

On August 5, 1913, C Squadron, 30th Regiment, "British Columbia Horse" was moved from Armstrong to Enderby.³¹

In 1913, "E" Company of the 102nd Regiment "Rocky Mountain Rangers" was authorized in Kelowna.³²  It was followed in 1914 by "F", "G" and "H" companies that were authorized in Salmon Arm,³³ Vernon,³⁴ and Penticton,³⁵ respectively.

Effective May 1, 1914, a new infantry battalion was authorized in the interior of British Columbia.³⁶  This unit would eventually be known as the "107th East Kootenay Regiment"³⁷) may be considered the direct antecedent to the present 44th Field Engineer Squadron.  Originally, this eight-company regiment was to be created in the valleys amongst the Selkirk, Purcell and Rocky ranges with battalion headquarters at Fernie.  Company headquarters were to be at Fernie, Cranbrook, Elko, Fort Steele, Golden, Hosmer and Michel. However, with Canada's entry into the First World War changes in the unit's organization were inevitable.

	Rocky Mountain Rangers Parading through Nelson BC ca 1908 - 1912
	MAP: BC Militia Units circa 1914

Places mentioned in this section -  Click for Maps