Park Rangers (1959)

Wimbledon Common, London. M/S of three park rangers looking very smart in bowler hats and tweeds and mounted on horses; they are inspected by the Warden, Lieutenant Colonel Bill Whitehead, who reads instructions to them while his dog sits patiently beside him. The ’Mounted Keepers’ ride off and around the Common, making sure that golfers are wearing red jackets (one man is told off for not doing so), tipping their hats to horse riders and stopping two small boys from starting a fire. Several shots show grass burning in the sun; a ranger discovers a bush fire and rides off to make a call from a police telephone box in the forest (looks like a surreal episode of Dr Who with this tardis in a rural setting!). A fire engine arrives and the firemen pull out the hoses to put out the fire. One fireman is seen beating the fire with a tree branch. Note: on file are notes on the ’Mounted Keepers’ and a booklet detailing the Bye-Laws of the Wimbledon and Putney Commons. FILM ID: A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PA