The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen sent Grenfell to
Newfoundland in 1892 to improve the plight of coastal inhabitants and fishermen. That mission began in earnest in 1892 when he recruited two nurses and two doctors for hospitals at
Indian Harbour, Labrador and later opened cottage hospitals along the coast of Labrador. The mission expanded greatly from its initial mandate to one of developing schools, an orphanage, cooperatives, industrial work projects, and social work. Although founded to serve the local area, the mission developed to include the aboriginal peoples and settlers along the coasts of Labrador and the eastern side of the
Great Northern Peninsula of western Newfoundland. One of the children Grenfell assisted was an
Inuk girl,
Kirkina, for whom he helped secure artificial limbs and later the
Grenfell Mission educated her in nursing and midwifery. In 1907, Grenfell imported a group of 300
reindeer from Norway to provide food and serve as draft animals in Newfoundland. Unbeknownst to him, some of the animals carried a parasitic
roundworm,
Elaphostrongylus rangiferi, that then spread to native
caribou herds. The reindeer herd eventually disappeared; however, the parasite took hold and causes cerebrospinal elaphostrongylosis (CSE) in caribou, a disease well known in reindeer in Scandinavia. In 1908, Grenfell was on his way with his dogs to a Newfoundland village for a medical emergency when he got caught in
"slob", from which he managed to get onto an ice-pan with the dogs. He was forced to sacrifice some of his dogs to make a warm, fur coat for himself. After drifting for several days without food or fresh water, he was rescued by some villagers in the area. Because of this experience he buried the dogs and put up a plaque saying, "Who gave their lives for me." By 1914 the mission had gained international status. In order to manage its property and affairs, the
International Grenfell Association, a non-profit mission society, was founded to support Grenfell's work. The Association operated until 1981, as an
NGO. It had responsibility for delivery of healthcare and social services in northern Newfoundland and Labrador. After 1981 a governmental agency, The Grenfell Regional Health Services Board took over the operational responsibility. The International Grenfell Association, having divested itself of all properties and operational responsibility for health and social services, boarding schools and hospitals then became a supporting association making grants and funding scholarships for medical training. For his years of service on behalf of the people of these communities he was later knighted by the King in 1927. In 1931, Grenfell had a small speaking role in the film,
The Viking, in which he narrated the film's prologue and gave a brief statement of the tragic circumstances involving the film's production. During the production of the film, which was filmed on location in Newfoundland, producer
Varick Frissell felt that the film needed more action sequences and set out on the ice floes to film them. During filming, the ship, SS
Viking on which filming was taking place, exploded, killing Frissell and 27 others. == Personal life ==