BATTALION MUSTER

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20604, 4 November 1941, Page 4

BATTALION MUSTER

HOME GUARD UNITS COMBINED OPERATIONS Units of the Gisborne Battalion, Home Guard, will take part in combined operations to-morrow night, working under orders which will be delivered to their commanders at their respective parade-grounds from battalion headquarters. The operations have been designed as a test of initiative on the part of commanders and sub-commanders, down to section-leaders, and will be the first in which the whole of the battalion has worked in co-operation.

Orders for movement and tasks will be issued under seal, by dispatch riders from battalion headquarters, and equipment for this occasion will be allotted by the quartermaster according to the tasks for which different combat and support units are designated. The equipment will be sent to rendezvous points nominated in orders issued to unit commanders.

Some of the units normally would not be parading to-morrow, but have been called on to take part in the operations. They should find much interest in the development of the scheme, which is likely to be the forerunner of further combined operations as the summer advances. Distribution of Tasks

Though no details of the plan for to-morrow evening are available, it is possible that certain combat units will be required to take up positions as a preliminary to attack or defence, while support units will be given various tasks contributing to the security of operations and also to the maintenance of communications. A time schedule will be attached to the orders, and adherence to this schedule will be one of the tests applied by the battalion command.

Units will parade, as under:—A Company, at Williams and Kettle’s store, at 7.30 p.m.; B Company, at Dalgety’s store, at 7.30 p.m.; C Company, at Bignell and Holmes’ garage, at 7.30 p.m.; D Company, at Williams and Kettle’s . store, at 7.30 p.m.; Engineers’ Company, at High School, at 7.30 p.m.; Signals Section, at High School, at 7.30 p.m.; Medical Section, at High School, at 7.30 p.m.; MotorCycle Platoon, at Nolan and Skeet’s building, at 7.15 p.m. (with motorcycles); battalion quartermaster’s staff, at Sargood’s buildings, at 7.15 p.m. Normal Parades Scheduled In addition to the above units, the Home Guard Band will muster as usual to-morrow night, but will not have any part in the operations. On Thursday evening the Pipe Band will parade at the usual place and hour.

Parades tailed for the week-end include a range practice for Headquarters Company (signals and motor-cycle platoons), and a parade for the Engineers Company at Awapuni road, both being scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sunday. Unit commanders of the Gisborne Battalion are being requested to prepare lists of personnel available to take special courses of instruction at G.Ey.S.I., Dannevirke, at intervals from November 15 to February 28. The subjects include Lewis and Thompson automatic guns, tactics, weapon-training, field engineering, signalling, demolitions, medium machine-guns, mortars, field-craft and tank-hunting. Lists of the courses and the dates for which they are set down have been supplied to unit commanders for reference by officers and non-commisioned officers interested.