TERRITORIALS AND CHRISTMAS

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 December 1940, Page 3

TERRITORIALS AND CHRISTMAS

MORE POPULAR DECISION. [per press association.] WELLINGTON, December 8. Rearrangement of the training proI gramme to enable territorials now in camp to be returned to their homes before Christmas was announced tonight by the Minister for Defence (Mr Jones). The units affected were called up for three months’ training from October 1, and it was intended that they should remain in camp till December 28. The Minister said that the Government had given further consideration to the question of dispersing these units. It had been decided after careful investigation to rearrange the training programme to enable battalion and brigade exercises to be completed and the men returned to their homes before Christmas. “With this end in view it has now been decided to speed up the final stages of the advanced field manoeuvres, and this training will finish on December 21,” said Mr Jones. “There is a great deal of cleaning up, checking, and handing into the store of camp and training equipment, which has been in use for three months, and which must be left in good order and condition for the use of other units, which will enter camp early in January. This will take the best part of two days to complete. By arranging for men who have farthest to travel to leave camp on the night of December 22 or early on December 23, and those who live closer to follow later in the day on December 23 nearly all the men will reach their homes that night, and all will be home for Christmas.”