BRITISH ARMY CHANGES

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 February 1940, Page 3

BRITISH ARMY CHANGES

TERRITORIALS REPLACED

LONDON, January 31

A large number of .Territorial officers commanding battalions are to be replaced by Regular officers, on the grounds that the Territorial officers have not reached a standard of training nor had the experience necessary for efficiency in war. • . ,T.he expansion of the Territorial Army, which jt was decided to double only a few . months before the war, created a big demand for efficient senior, ofiicers, and evidently, the War Office, has now decided that the Territorial. Army is unable to. provide efficient senior leaders in sufficient numbers. . . . . .

The Regular Army, although short of subalterns, has plenty of majors ’ and senior captains, who’ are qualified for battalion or .equivalent commands. It , is Just in these, ranks that there has. been a serious promotion block ,in recent.years. -. .. . Nevertheless, the decision to replace so many Territorial commanders has caused some dissatisfaction among Territorial officers generally, who! consider that Regular officers.attached J to Territorial..units, or commanding formations containing Territorial units are prejudiced against Territorial officers, believe too easily that Territorials are incapable of "holding senior

commands, and are too ready to “report in favour of the transfer of a command to a Regular officer.

The promotion of Territorial officers to command divisions is, of course, a very recent development in the British Army, despite the fact that many Dominion civilian officers attained divisional commands in the last war, and that two of them became corps commanders. COMPLAINTS OF INJUSTICE Territorial officers complain also of injustices produced by a recent order whereby all Territorial officers lose all seniority gained in their present rank before August 25, 1939. The object is to ensure that Territorial ofiicers shall not be senior to Regulars of the same rank. In many cases this means the loss of as much as 10 years’ seniority, and many second-

lieutenants with one or two years’ seniority. will not gaih their second “pip” before 1941.-

The Regular Army is meeting a shortage of subalterns largely., by promoting big batches, of non-commis-sioned officers, and every issue of the London Gazette contains names of dozens of warrant-officers who. have been promoted to commissioned rank —and sometimes promoted directly to the rank of full lieutenant.

RAJAH’S NEPHEW LOSES TITLE

WAR WORK IN ENGLAND. f . I ? . . SINGAPORE, January 23. T Thd Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Charles Brooke, has issued; a proclamation that his nephew, Mr. Anthony Brooke, | who was• give nthe title- of Rajah of Muda ■ in -March;”l939, been

deprived of that title and its power's, as "he-is hot yet fitted to exercise the responsibilities of this high position.” Mr, Anthony Brooke passed through Singapore last month, on Tils way lb England to take up .war work.