ADDITIONS TO N.Z.E.F. IN BRITAIN

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 283, 24 August 1940, Page 8

ADDITIONS TO N.Z.E.F. IN BRITAIN

Training For Commissions BIG WEEK FOR ARTILLERY UNITS (From the Official Correspondent Attached to the New Zealand Forces in Britain.) ENGLAND, August 21. The strength of the New- Zealand Expeditionary Force in Britain was increased this week by the arrival iu camp of about 40 recruits attested in London. All are New Zealanders. Some were volunteers and others, called up under the British military training scheme, elected to serve with their fellow-couh trymen. The newcomers are not being treated as a separate recruit squad, but have been distributed among units where, in return for the privilege of joining the New Zealand Force, they will be expected to work specially hard in making up leeway in training.

The first batch of candidates for commissions will shortly be selected from privates and n.c.o.’s in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and they will begin a four mouths’ course with British officer cadet training units, from where those successful will be passed out as second lieutenants and reposted for service with the New Zealand Force.

Unit commanders have been asked to recommend suitable men, after which a selection board will examine the recommendations and choose the candidates. The number chosen will depend mainly on the number of vacancies in training establishments. The high quality of New Zealand N.C.O.’s has been repeatedly remarked upon by competent British observers, who expect our cadets to give a particularly good account of themselves in the training courses, in which they will be associated with men from the United Kingdom and other Dominions’ forces. Several New Zealanders who enlisted iu the United Kingdom and subsequently were selected as training officers were recently posted to the N.Z.E.F. as second lieutenants. They include a Rhodes Scholar, D. M. Davin, and Keith West-Watson, son of Archbishop West-Watson. This has been the biggest week in the military experience of the second echelon artillery, the full strength of which was engaged in firing practice on a famous English range, using not onlytypes of guns with which the men were familiar in New Zealand, but also new issues. Although the gunners, while waiting for full equipment in the early weeks of their training drilled manfully as infantry iu order to be ready for any emergency, they are unconcealedly glad to be back in their own branch of the service. Accordingly this week, with guns in the field bringing to a climax a period of intensive training with most modern artillery’ practices, brought the units’ keenness to a new peak. A military cricket match. Australia v. New Zealand, will be played on Saturday. E. IV. Tindill will be captain.