TRANSFER OF MEN

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4555, 5 March 1942, Page 3

TRANSFER OF MEN

HOME GUARD AND E.P.S. POSITION UNSATISFACTORY Contending that the present position between the Emergency Precautions Scheme and the Home Guard was unsatisfactory and needed clarification, the Minister for National Service, Hon. R. Semple, gave a meeting of the Blenheim E.P.S. to understand that before long regulations will be brought forward authorising transfer of personnel from one service to the other,

Mr Semple’s indication was given in the course of an address on the general war situation, when he stressed the necessity for a state of preparedness, which, he considered, had not yet been fully accomplished. At the moment, he said, it was optional for those eligible to join the Home Guard or the E.P.S. Many men between 60 and 70 years of age were in the Home Guard, while hundreds of younger men who should be in the Guard wore in the E.P.S. or standing by. There was no power vested in anyone to make a transfer of such men.

Mr Semple said that the matter had been the subject of conferences between representatives of the Army and Cabinet with the idea of seeing that all available man-power was organised. It had been found that large groups had enlisted in both the Home Guard and the E.P.S. He had thought that one of the first jobs of the Home Guard would be to classify these men, but it seemed that a difficulty had arisen. As a result regulations, now in the course of formulation, would be drafted very shortly. The Home Guard would be transferred to the E.P.S. and vice versa. Until this was done an efficient organisation in either case could not be obtained.