DEFENCE NOTES

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 190, 8 May 1937, Page 8 (Supplement)

DEFENCE NOTES

News of and File ON PARADE AND OFF Physical Training (By Liaison.) An officer of the New Zealand Forces who has recently attended a course of physical training at the Army School of Physical Training, Engl, ad, had some interesting remarks to make on the subject. lie says: "Physical ‘jerks' have entirely disappeared, and the majority of exercises are of the rhythmical and stretching type, aiming at the harmonious development of the body, heart and lungs, and the correction of faults in carriage, etc. "Verbal instruction is cut down to a minimum. In recruits’ tables the instru .or demonstrates an exercise while the class is actually doing another one. He then changes back to the exercise the class is doing, and changes to the new exercise with the class. Instruction in trained soldiers’ tables are simply ‘folk .v my leader,’ the instructor changing the class from exercise to exercise. "An experiment has been carried out at Aldershot in which a number of substamurd recruits were given a course to see whether they could be brought up to standard. When the course commenced, weights, measurements, etc., of the recruits were taken, and, in addition to chest expansion being measured, each recruit had his lung capacity measured. This consisted of inflating the lungs and expelling the . ir through* a tube into an instrument which measured ii:> quantity of air expelled. “An interesting fact that was noticed in this connection was that some of the lads with subnormal chests had just as much lung capacity (which is what matters as far as endurance is concerned) as some of the P.T. school instructors, who have a very large chest expansion. I his opens up the problem as to whether or not it is advisable to turn a man down because his chest measurement does not reach a certain figure on the tanennasure. I discussed this with the hygiene specialist, who was of the opinion that no alteration in the existin" remil’itions would be made. “I was unable to see these recruits Great results were achieved. The recruits

were dealt with, and the following table shows the progress made after six weeks:

Stiffness ol Gie joints and slight spinal curvature was common. The resmts were so encouraging that the course was carried on lor a iiiriber four weeks', at the etui of which ail but two reached the required standard. liieir daily routine may be of jileresi: Reveille, G. 30; breaklast, 7; education, 8.30-9.3(1; P.T., 10 11; recreational training ami athletics, .11.15 12.30; dinner, 12.45; education, 2-3.30; tea, 3.45; voluntary P.T. and remedial work, 5-6; j supper, 6.30; lights out, 10.15. The vaiue i of P.T. is now being increasingly recog- . nised both in the Army and iu civilian ■ ■ life. I have seen the results that modern ’ ' methods of instruction can produce, and ' ' after having undergone a concentrated i course of P.T. for six weeks. I am a firm : lieliever in its value, not only from tiie 1 physical point of view, but also in the ’, development of will-power and charac- • i ter.” j Mechanisation. . I A recent report irom a New Zealand ;! officer who is attached to a mechanised . I machine-gun battalion in England has > ’ some interesting comments. ■ Describing a night move, mostly by . cross-country tracks, with some SO mixed ■ vehicles, he says :— "I drove my own car in the column—- , a most valuable experience. Driving with ; side and rear lights.only is most fat.going. . One Las to watch the red tail-light of the . vehicle ahead, and gradually it exerts ,i an almost hypnotic influence. I would . ; have fallen asleep several times if the ■ signal officer had not had the forethought , to put a signaller with me, with orders to , talk hard. It was no difficulty to him I , ’ “Arrived in camp, fagged out, at 0 a.m., [ having covered !)0 miles, averaging six , miles and hour! Frequent halts ami . ■ long stretches at a crawling pace led to I quite a number of vehicles being ditched i through drivers falling asleep. Motor- ‘ | cyclists had the worst time. Keeping a ' i heavy machine on the road at slow speed ’ is most exhausting. Engines- get very hot owing to so much low-gear work. | "Policing crossroads and side-tracks ■ ■| is most important. So is map-reading. - | One lorry stopped in a s-rnnll creek, and 1 everyone behind thought the column had I halted. When it was realised that a i breakdown had occurred, the offender was i shoved aside—but no column ahead ' The i next road junction was not policed, and away went two machine-gun platoons into ’ the dirty night on th» wrong turning. We i gathered them in long after dawn. - "Another time, the guide read his map < badly and took the whole battalion up a

blind lane at night. “We were 45 minutes turning about, and the contusion and comments can be imagined. Add a little enemy action and things would have been desperate. “Mud and mechanisation don't mix. We were stuck in one “hide-up” when it rained all the week-end. None of the wheeled vehicles- could get out of the churned-iip parking area. Solid English rain did not improve the job, either.”

ComemneeAfter i incut o£ course. wevlc?. Under weight and chest . 27 11 1 Under chest .... -1 J 1>.bordered action of heart 1 Rigidity of great toe .... 1 Up to standard — 21 ;