TWO SEPARATE UNITS

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LXII, Issue 14, 21 February 1941, Page 4

TWO SEPARATE UNITS

HOME GUARD AND EMERGENCY PRECAUTIONS MEN

TO TRAIN TOGETHER

AGREEMENT REACHED AT

CONFERENCE

A conference of representatives of the Ellesmere Home Guard and of the Emergency Precautions Committee was held at Leeston last night to discuss several matters of interest to both organisations. Much useful work was done and the conference reached an understanding on several points which had not been clear before and the result should be for the mutual benefit of both organisations and a closer cooperation between them. Mr R. T. McMillan was elected chairman and the other delegates were: Messrs W. S. McLaughlin, D. Taylor, H. D. Jones, L. Tucker, J. McAllister, W. H. Cartwright, A. Anderson, T. W. Felton, J. A. Scott, J. Sewell and Dr. S. R. Cattell.

Mr McMillan said that the conference was an important one, to discuss better co-ordination between both organisations, and to reach a clear understanding between the two. He went on to say that the Emergency Precautions Committee was set up some time ago and had its organisation well in hand, the personnel recruited and a scheme prepared. Then the Home Guard was formed and was now dflang very well with growing enthusiasm throughout the district, and no doubt it would continue to grow in the future. There was some doubt as to how far the emergency precautions scheme should go and what were the duties of the Home Guard and whether it should take over control. The Minister for National Service expected that every man who could possibly do so should join the Home Guard. In Ellesmere county some of the men had joined up with the precautions scheme when it was first organised, and then later joined the Home Guard and were now parading with it.- There was now some doubt as to what these should do. Then again there were men in the Home Guard who were better fitted for service in the precautions scheme. The chairman spoke appreciatively of the interest shown in this matter by the delegates.

Mr Taylor said that the class of emergency which would have to be faced was the all-important factor. In the event of an invasion or a raid, the Home Guard would need all the trained fighting men it could muster, and there would be very little for the emergency precautions men to do. On the other hand, if the attack took the form of aerial bombing or a sea bombardment the Home Guard would have little to do while the emergency precautions would most likely be busily engaged in dealing with evacuees. He emphasised the need for having men in the Home Guard who were capable of bearing arms and said that there was plenty of work for the older men and men who were not fit in the emergency precautions scheme.

Mr J. A. Scott said that he thought the difficulty was. not one of precedence . but one of function. There seemed to be a lot of confusion as to what the functions of the two organisations should be. For instance the precautions scheme had a section for law and order, yet the Home Guard was being asked to set aside men for guard duty. The sub-controller for supplies had control over petrol but an anomalous position had also arisen here and it appeared as if his authority would exist, in an emergency, to only privately-owned petrol. There was also need to reach an understanding on personnel. The position was more or less, chaotic. The biggest problem, in his opinion, was to define as far as possible the functions of both organisations. A re-shuffle in personnel would also be necessary and in .some cases a transfer of men to jobs more suitable for them.

The chairman agreed that the position was very difficult. There appeared to be little co-ordination between the national controlling authorities of the two bodies and a

statement giving a clear definition of the position was necessary.

Mr Anderson suggested that a letter should be written to the Minister of National Service drawing attention to this aspect of the matter:

Mr W. S. McLaughlin said that in his opinion with a few exceptions and key men, the personnel of the emergency precautions scheme should join the Emergency Reserve Corps and drill with the Home Guard. It was necessary that the men should receive a certain amount of military training for them to acquire sufficient discipline to carry out their duties if an emergency arose. If it came it would be of a Mfe-and-death nature. The men would have to be trained in the use of arms and in the military sense. The older men or those with special qualifications should be trained ' for emergency precautions work.

In reply to the chairman, Mr McLaughlin said he did not see any difficulty in the emergency precautions men drilling as a separate unit with the Home Guard.

Dr. Cattell said that.more should be made of the functions of the two bodies, and there should be a close association between the two organisations. There should not be so much distinction made, for men were, prepared to give service, some by training to fight and the others in some other way. He pointed out that women could enrol for service in the Emergency Reserve Corps. Mr Scott said that the emergency precautions men should form a separate unit of the Home Guard. That had been indicated to him in recent official correspondence. The men were to receive special training in their own particular job.

Mr Cartwright said that confusion over the two organisations was not limited to this district but was general throughout New Zealand. The problem was in the organisation work, for the men were out to do the best they could for the community in which they lived. The enrolment form contemplated two branches of the Emergency Reserve Corps and the point was to keep them both in a state of efficiency. He suggested that the group commander of the Home Guard and the controller of the Emergency Precautions Scheme should consult on the personnel of both divisions with a view to making transfers and adjustments which would be to the advantage of both divisions. Both were on the voluntary basis and he thought the men concerned would be willing to fall in with the recommendations of the officers. He also agreed that it was advisable that the men in both divisions should be trained together, but as separate units. No man should belong to both divisions.

Mr Scott said that in event of an emergency the Home Guard would be incorporated in the Army, but the emergency precautions men would be left under their controller.

The chairman said he saw no reason why the emergency precautions men should not drill, as a separate unit with the Home Guard.

Mr Scott emphasised that the enrolments were, made in the Emergency Reserve Corps. It had two units, Home Guard and Emergency Precautions, and no man could be in both.

Messrs Anderson and Taylor agreed that the emergency precautions men should receive some military training along with that for thir own special work. Mr Cartwright said that this was in keeping with his idea. No one knew what duties either division would entail. They were like the two branches of one army.

There was some further discussion on the finding of men for special duties. Mr McLaughlin pointed out that it was possible in this way to clip the wings of the Home Guard until it would be of no use for war purposes. There was further discussion on the point of the emergency precautions men training with the Home Guard, all the speakers being favourable to it. Where the men to fill all the special positions mentioned were to come from was also included in the discussion, during which it was remarked that if the Home Guard supplied all the men to fill the posts mentioned there would be no Home Guard left.

Mr Taylor: If we had 500 men

enrolled, as we should have, there would be sufficient for both divisions. Mr Scott: The Emergency Precautions Scheme will need 70. Mr Anderson: We will have to have a recruiting rally. Mr Cartwright said that the scheme should have been organised as one, but the Government had decided otherwise and he did not think it would change now. A recommendation on the lines suggested, however, would do no harm.

Other speakers were of the same opinion—that the population of the district was too small and too scattered for the proper manning of both schemes.

Mr J. Sewell said that the 70 men in the Emergency Precautions Scheme were spread over the whole of Ellesmere. On the roll there were not more than ten men who were under 30 years of age. There would still be a lot of men left for the Home Guard.

Mr H. D. Jones said that there should be a better distribution of personnel. It seemed to him that the two townships were carrying the whole burden.

It was agreed that the Emergency Precautions personnel should train with the Home Guard but in separ-

ate units

It was also decided that the group commander of the Home Guard and the controller of the Emergency Precautions Scheme should revise the rolls of both divisions and make recommendations of any transfers proposed to the men concerned who would be given the option of deciding which branch they would join.

Men belonging to the Emergency Precautions Scheme were required to enrol in the Emergency Reserve Corps, signing the special declaration required of them.

Further discussion on training showed that Home Guard officers favoured the men who would form the fighting unit of the Guard being placed in separate platoons. The emergency precautions units would receive a certain amount of military drill and training in their own special branch.

The commander and the controller were authorised to write to the Minister of National Service explaining some of the difficulties encountered, and asking for further instructions and information, relative to bringing about unity and better co-operation between the two organisations.

The suggestion that a sub-com-mittee from the conference should be formed to deal with any urgent matters affecting the two organisations was agreed to. The chairmen of both committees (Messrs R. T McMillan and A. Anderson), the area commander (Mr W. S. McLaughlin) and the controller (Mr J. A. Scott) were appointed to the

committee