MARCH THROUGH WELLINGTON

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 10 January 1940, Page 4

MARCH THROUGH WELLINGTON

FIRST DRAFTS ON FRIDAY THE CENTRAL DISTRICT [United Press Association] WELLINGTON. This Day. Between Friday of this week and Tuesday next approximately 1700 soldiers will enter the Central Military District mobilisation camp at Trentham as part of the second echelon of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The Wellington quota is 839 and approximately 400 of these will assemble on Friday at the area office, Buckle street, and march from there at 9 a.m. to Customhouse Quay to the railway station, where they will entrain for Trentham. The rest of the men will enter the camp in the interval between Friday and Tuesday. The Wanganui-Palmerston North (area six) quota is 335, Ha’/kes Bay-Gisborne-Wairarapa (area seven) 315 and Taranaki (area eight) 255. These men will go to the camp by train from their districts. Men will also enter the camp from the Northern and Southern military districts, while men from the Central district will also be posted to other units in the camps at Burnham, Ngaruawahia and Papakura. The total district quota is 1744. The units for Trentham are the Second New Zealand Divisional Headquarters, Divisional Signals, headquarters Fifth Infantry Brigade, 22nd Rifle Battalion, Divisional Petrol Company, two light-aid detachments, provost company, divisional postal unit, anti-tank company. Recruits will also leave the Central district for the Divisional Cavalry (mechanised), antitank regiment, field regiment, New Zealand Engineers, and field ambulance, whose training is carried out at the other camps. The Maori Battalion is also to go into camp soon, probably toward the end of next week.