ARMY TRADE SCHOOL

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29321, 28 September 1960, Page 16

ARMY TRADE SCHOOL

Establishment At Trentham

A new Army trade school serving the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps has been established under charter at Trentham Military Camp. As with the other corps school of the Army, the R.N.Z.A.S.C. School will conduct specialist training for its corps. The establishment of an ordnance school coincides with a reorganisation of trades designed to ensure that by the time they are fully qualified ordnance soldiers have a first-class knowledge of stores, ammunition and vehicles.

Previously the men were trained at other Army schools in the. case of storemen and clerks, and on specially organised courses if ammunition examiners. Because training with other corps schools was not sufficiently specialised in handling of bulk stores, it was decided to establish the new school.

An ammunition wing was established at Trentham about two years ago, and with the recent formation of a stores and vehicles wing the way was clear for the issue of a charter officially constituting the school. Work of School Providing specialist courses for both Regular and Territorial ordnance units, the school will handle specialist training and qualification courses, promotion courses for officers and men, corps training of recruits and refresher courses. The chief instructor of the new R.N.Z.A.O.C. School is Major F. A. Bishop, a New Zealand officer, who recently returned from South-east Asia after two years* service with the 17th Ghurka Division. Although part of the establishment of the main ordnance depot the new school will come under the command of the Director of Ordnance Services at Army Headquarters (LieutenantColonel H. McK. Reid). Under him the school will have the further duties of conducting corps exercises testing new materials and equipment, and conducting research.