ANNUAL CAMPS AT BALMORAL

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27735, 12 August 1955, Page 12

ANNUAL CAMPS AT BALMORAL

INNOVATION HELD SUCCESSFUL (From Our Parliamentary Keporter) WELLINGTON, August 11. The annual camps for all major field units in the South Wand using the new training area at Balmoral. Lake Tekapo, were a success, and bore out his claims of a year ago of the advantages that would result from the acquisition of the area, said Major-General W. G. Gentry, the Chief of the General Staff, in his annual report on the Army to the House of Representatives today. The annual camps of all Territorial Force units, except two, were held from November to March. He was fully aware that inconvenience was suffered by some sections of the community through unit camps being held in the summer, but if valuable training time, money, and effort were not to be wasted, annual camps had to be held when the weather was most favourable, he said. That applied particularly to Waiouru and Tekapo, the two main training centres, where winters were severe. Camp dates were not settled arbitrarily. They were selected by unit commanding officers after consultation with their company commanders, thus ensuring that due consideration was given to the needs, which were often conflicting, of local industry and other activities in which most of the officers were themselves vitally concerned.