AIR CADET CORPS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20625, 5 August 1941, Page 9

AIR CADET CORPS

DOMINION PROGRESS HUNDREDS TRAINING (Por Proas Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. Steady progress is being made in New Zealand with the establishment of an Air Cadet Corps, said the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, today. The Minister described it as a young brother to the Empire air training scheme, and said it would officially be open to youths of from 16* to 13 years. Consent of the parents must be obtained before cadets coutd be accepted and training effected for the pre-entry course for youths intending later to join either the air crews, ground or technical staffs of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The Minister outlined the scope of the subjects covered, stating that the training would be of value to a number of civil occupations and would tend to bring out the best qualities in each trainee. Some hundreds of youths had already been selected in the main centres, he said, and the appointment of instructors was now well in hand. Units would be formed where possible in high schools and colleges, and a scheme for training youths in country districts by correspondence courses was nearing completion. The Minister added that he hoped in a few months the scheme would' be in full operation, with some thousands of members. Undoubtedly it would provide a valuable reserve of M en, air-minded young men whose training would prove a real asset both to themselves and the country.