SPECIAL FORCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 October 1939, Page 5

SPECIAL FORCE

WEST COAST DRAFT Approximately 50 men, the first, supplementary draft from the West Coast, will leave by to-morrow's express for Burnham camp, in charge of. Captain E. Caldwell of Greymouth. r J'he number will include 23 from the Grey district. The men will parade at. the Drill Hall at 9.30 a.m., for rollcall. and a brief farewell by the Mayor (Mr. F. A. Kitchingham) after which, headed by the Municipal Band, they will march to the station. No enrolments in the Special Military Force were made at Greymouth yesterday, for the first time since the call was made for volunteers. There had been no enlistments to-day up to the time- the “Star” went to press, so the total remains at 266. ADVANCED TRAINING. ORIGINAL PLAN ALTERED. CHRISTCHURCH, October 12. The proposal to concentrate the echelon of the Special Force at Waiouru in a tented camp on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu, 16 miles north of Taihape, has been cancelled. District camps for active service training are to be held on sites yet to be selected. “It was originally intended that, towards the end of the training period, all units would proceed to Waiouru for collective training,” said Colonel P. H. Bell, Officer Commanding the Southern Command, to-day. “It has now been decided that advanced training will be carried out in the districts.” ESSENTIA L 0(Cl RATIONS. REQUESTS FOR EXEMPTION. CHRISTCHURCH, October 12. Although no official statement has been made, a number of occupations have been classed as essential lor the well-being of the Dominion in time of war, and men engaged in them who have enlisted and been passed as fit have not been called up. On the other hand, a number of employers have applied for exemption of employees who have not offered their services. An enormous amount of time is being taken in the registration offices by the receipt of letters from employers with long lists of employees for whom they request exemption from service. The “hunting up” of these names is most difficult and delays work in the offices, and a. very large percentage of those included in the lists have not offered their services. It is pointed out that the only persons who will be called up are those who have offered their services, and the authorities therefore suggest that where employers feel that certain of their employees are essential for the maintenance of works of national importance they should themselves speak to those employees and arrange for them to delay offering their services, if they have any intention of doing so. Cases have occurred where employers have asked that an employee be withdrawn from the draft for camp and have .satisfied the registration staff that it was a reasonable request. Then the employee concerned has called at the registration office, in an indignant mood, to inquire why he had not been sent forward to camp. Hero again, the authorities stated, it would seem that co-operation between employer and employee would save friction.

Because they are in employment which, is considered essential for national purposes, the offer of service from a number of men has been rejected in the meantime by the Army authorities. Where the authorities are satisfied that a man could be better employed at his occupation than in joining the Special Force, the following letter has been sent to him:—

“With reference to my notice to you that you were posted to a unit of the above force, I have now to advise you, with regret, that it has been decided that, in the meantime, you will be better serving your country by remaining in your present employment; and' you have therefore been deleted from the roll of men to proceed as ordered. If you have received any travelling warrants please return same. Should your circumstances later change, there is no reason why you should not repeat your application, in which case kindly bring in, or send, this notice when so doing.”