TERRITORIALS.

Evening Star, Issue 16837, 12 September 1918, Page 3

TERRITORIALS.

[By Skirmishes.] Item- of interest onctrntno n <>*P* (Tut antt Country), shooting and I tnvtoiial notes generally will be Copy, addressed to '" Skirmisher, should be in hand not later thin Monday morr ing. _ The balance of the reservists in class C, numbering 3.500 to 4,000, will be called up bv a 'Gazette' to be issued on September 15 The data of the first ballot lor class D has not vet boon decided, but it is stated that it is not likely to be before November at the earliest. The return of the number of men who passed through the CI camp into the ranks of the Expeditionary Force shows that from October 6. 1917, to June 1 1918 the fit men produced numbered 1,900. bmce 1 then the number has fc»™ increased by ! 718, making the total 2.651. Captain W. H. Hawkins, who returned j to New Zealand from the front in March ! is acting commandant at Somes Island , while the commandant, Major Matheson, is i on leave. . ~ ! There is in the British Army at the present moment an elderly officer possessed ■ of a nerve so amazing that one hears of Ins work almost with incredulity (says a London paper). He is a tester of parachutes, and it is his almost daily business to go ! up in observation balloons to a height of j some thousands of feet and then to throw himself out with a parachute for his Incline. Sometimes he fails nearly I,oooft ' before the parachute opens. He may land i in the oddest places, and the other day he and his parachute came down in the middle of a busy street, and he narrowly escaped being run over by a motor omnibus. There was also an occasion when he found himself upon the roof of a house with no jiisible means of getting down therefrom, and for some little time his position was precarious. This elderly gentleman revels in his work, and one hears with astonish ' ment that he would not willingly change it I for any other. I Speaking in Wellington recently on the \ excellent training of the lads on New Zealand's, little training ship Amokura. the Minister of Marine (Hon. T. M. Wilford) remarked that if all the boys—a full complement—on the Amokura left one day he could fill their places straight away, for he had received many applications from all parts of the Dominion. " This was," he said, " pleasant proof of the spirit of young folk in these islands, and also of the confidence of parents in the record of the ship and the opportunities that the training opened up for their sons. This was prae tically a vote of confidence in the experiment', which had more than justified the public's expectation. If funds were available I would have no hesitation in reconimending Cabinet to purchase a larger ship. I am sure that such an enterprise would have a great effect on the future history of this island country. I believe that it would be necessary to give better opportunities to the youth of New Zealand to join up with that" great and wonderful British Naw which had saved civilisation." The refresher camp for officers and non-commissioned officers of secondary school Cadet Corps in the Ota-go Military District commenced at Tahuna Park on Friday last. The syllabus arranged by Major Shand is a particularly useful one, and the N.C.O.'s, at the completion of the camp, will have a thorough grounding in their elementary work, and should be of great value to their company commanders when they retnrn to their respective companies. Owing to the heavy rain on Friday, and the sodden condition of the ■ ground, it was not considered advisable to i pitch the tents. The local boys were therefore sent home, with orders to report at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The boys from Southland and other outlying centres were billeted for the night in the grandstand at Tahuna Park and Central Battery. On Saturday morning the tents were pitched, and the whole of the N.C.O.'s in camp were hard at work on their training syllabus by 10.30 a.m. On -Sunday church parade was held in the Y.M.C.A. marquee by the Rev. 11. Fairmaid (Chaplain, third class). On Monday, Tuesd/y, and Wednesday the syllabus included the following work : Musketry, squad drill, physical drill, platoon drill, and semaphore signalling. On Monday evening a lecture on ' The Art of Instruction and the Duties of N.C.O.'s' was given by Major Shand ; and on Tuesday the same officer lectured on ' The Theory of Rifle-fire, and the Interior and Exterior Ballistics.' On Wednesday Colonel (Medical Officer) lectured on ' Camp Sanitation,' and Major Cooper on ' Advance Guard.' To-day fieid-firing will be carried out under Major Shand at Tomahawk Beach. There are 121 boys in camp. A feature of the camp is the rigorous instruction carried out every morning by Major Shand. The Cadets now know that the dirty button, a safety catch down, dirty boots, a spot of mud on a uniform, puttees badly rolled, and similar little details cannot escape the eagle eye of the Camp Commandant, and mean a trip to the orderly room, followed by C.B. and defaulter's bugle. The syllabus arranged by Major Shand for the High School camp next week is < very interesting and instructive, and covers from squad drill and elementary musketry to field work. On Thursday the camp will be open to the public to see the boys at work. Friday will be taken up with field work. Major Shand will be in charge of the camp, with Lieutennat M'Crorie as camp adjutant, and a staff of 19 instructors. When addressing the assembled troops at the refresher camp for secondary schools' Cadet officers and N.C.O.'s of Canterbury District, at Burnham on 'September 4. Lieutenant-colonel Sleenivin stated that the shield presented by Mr J L. Passmore, of Dunedin. for the most

efficient Cadet unit' in the secondary schools had been won by the Christ's College Cadets for the year 1817-18. He congratulated the unit on its fine standard, and he considered that H was only fair to state that it had won the shield by a very few points, no fewer than three other schools closely competing for i'av honor. " Competition," said Colonel Sleeman, "was essential to complete mil. tary efficiency, and it is hoped that great efforts would' be made to wrest this challenge shield from its present holders dur ing the current year." A project for the raising of a considerable stirn of money for a foundation for I scholarships for the dependents of killed I and disabled soldiers has been originated in Trentham Camp, and it has lately been developed by business men with foresight and experience. The scheme becan in a very small way. Colonel Porter, Com-, mandant at Trentham Camp, made himself responsible for the cost of the publication of the book, ' Historic Trentham,' produced bv Mr Will Lawson, and the profits amounted to a considerable sum of money, running into some liun--1 dreds of pounds. The question at once | arose as to how these moneys should be used. Colonel Potter conceived the idea of founding scholarships for the dependents of disabled and fallen soldiers, and to that end he had trustees appointed for j the dispensation of the moneys. • The en- ! largement of the scheme soon followed. i The idea now is to make a Dominion ap- | peal for funds for the establishment of a considerable foundation, say, £IOO,OOO, which, with principal and interest, will provide scholarships for a number of the sons and daughters of soldiers who have, by the accidents of war. been deprived of the privileges which the world might otherwise have held for them. According to the latest British Anny Council Instruction, Cadets are to be allowed to join the Royal Air Force on at-t,'.i--.h'g the age of 17 years and 10 months. Os.C. Cadet units will be guided by the. following considerations before recoin- i mending the lad:—The candidate mwt he 17 years 10 months of age at the time of volunteering. He must be, as far as the Cadet CO. can judge, approximately of , Grade 1 in medical category, but an ana- j tcmical defect euoh as slight lameness need not debar a candidate from his C'.O.'s ro- | commendation. He must be known to j tho CO. as an intelligent and- well-con- ! ducted lad, sufficiently well educated to ensure the successful reception of technical instruction. He must be fully aware that he is volunteering for service in the R.A.F. as pilot or observer, or for such dul'.es as the exigencies of the service may demand. When admitted into the R.A F. he will bo earmarked as a commissioned or noncommissioned pilot or observer, according to the attainments and qn.n''fi"ations he proves himself to peeress. The written contort of his parents or eirardia-ns must , be sunplieti to the Cadet CO. _ _ I Two pupils o' the On.nit(»rb-u.ry Aviation Company's" School—C. H. Taylor (Dunedin) and J Simmers (Timaru) '>oth e.=s-v> v d li-dits for their tickets on Thursday last, and both experienced minor mishaps to their machines while in the air. In Taylor's case an engine valve broke, and he had to transfer to another machine to pass his tests, while a splinter came off the propeller of Simmers's machine when he "-de his flicrht, and he had to postpone his test. Good landings were made by '•*> th men under rather trying circumstances. Six more pupils of the Canterbury Flyirg School qualified for their certificates on September 4—namely, L. W. Stewart (New Brighton), H. T. Brikson (Spreydon), A. K. Brake (Ttu Ta.mi). J. E. M'Dinrniid (Onrnaru), W. S. E. Bennett (Kcxburgh). and R. J. Walker (Wellimrfcon). Colonel Sleeman. T.G.S.. and Colonel R. A. Ch''ft'v were the observers. There was a rather nasty southerly wind blowing- at the time, but "all p"ssed well. The numbers of nupi'lf of the school who have gained their ■ortificates is now 143. A return prepared bv Base Records I hows that to the end of A""'"+ \ ... sHrUers who have returned to New Zealand from over&ras was 22.915. : " ■'!■ '• , •'mr 1.279 me™W s of the c~,-..,„ v - ~ \ total of 17,400 officers and men of_ the main body and rei"^ ,- ee ents '-v ■- ■ discharged, and 1,801 have returned to i duty. | The District Mn-ketrv h** ; drawn up a table showing the allocations I of the Pelich-et Bay rifle -ranee ■ <"\ tV ! musketry course for l' 1" present trrvnriri-e I year. The District- jss-dtetry TnstnKtor | has instructed that the following in forma- ; tion be circulated. O'n davs all tted to ; 100 and 200 yards sbo-t ; ng to fi i=h at ■ the 100 yards Vance at 2 .V> p.m. (2i On , davs allotted to 200 -nd B*o vard". sItW- ! ine to finish at the 200 vards r-u-e .it 3 30 ' p.m. (3) That debatable points tlvt mnv , ne c nr at the rancre are to he referred to ; the particvJar ranee officer for the day. ' any unit, not intend to make use of the Ml of t.-rn-.-t-s tn it on any particular day the Group Commander requests that t-hp Officer Comma." ding t-hnt ir-it ivo-n'd ivfif" Kim at J Vast a week beforehand in order that the surplus targets may be allotted to another Ull't. The muslvPtry course for 19 1 8- 1 9 is to commence -at the PelVhet Ray range on Saturday. 21st inst., and will be carried on P'l'-.h Saturday until the end of March. On the fi-st S-ifc'-rda.v Coast havp been allotted 12 tweets and Divisional Si cm a Lling Company 6. the ranges to be | used are 100 -and 200 yards, with Lienten- I ant-colonel Frederic actinor as rancre officer. On the following S/iturdrv 4fh Rrc-iment ; have 12. and sth Mourt-V] Rifl'-s 6 tir- ' gets allotted them for the same rancres with the Officer Commanding Ist Battalion, 4th Recrjment, as range officer.