OVERSEAS FORCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24221, 13 February 1940, Page 10

OVERSEAS FORCE

OTAGO ENLISTMENTS TWENTY-THREE YESTERDAY SMALL DRAFT LEAVING FOR CAMP A draft ofTl men will leave Dunedin by the 11.35 a.m. express to-day for Trentham. Nine of the men are for the First General Hospital, and two for the First New Zealand Convalesence Depot. The names are: ■ First General Hospital.—Alfred Grass (corporal), N. Bateman, J. W. Blake, C. A. Andrews, S. Lawson, A. T. Wilson, S. E. Wolfenden, Thomas Morris, H. Patrick. First New Zealand Convalesence Depot.—L. J. Meldrum, J. E. Russell. To-morrow a draft comprising recruits for the Railway Construction Company, will leave for Burnham, and on Thursday men who have enlisted for coast defence will depart for Lyttelton. The Rev; R. Dodds, of the South Dunedin Presbyterian Church, who has enlisted as a chaplain to th. second echelon, is to report to Papakura Camp, and will leave Dunedin on Februar • 20.

There was an improved response yesterday to the call,for volunteers for the third echelon of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Twenty-three registrations, four of which are not available for publication, were received at the Kensington Drill Hall. The names available are as follows: Group Z Single Men

Claude Henry Fraser. Reginald Burt Clark. George Bryant Bowler. Colin Hanson. Wallace Harbin McArthur. William Stanley Sivertsen. James William Welsh. Maurice Desmond McVeigh. George Roger Chance. James Kirk. Charles Field Jeffery. lan Walmsley McKinnon. Group 4 (Married Men With Children) William Walker. John Alexander Anthony Paterson. Daniel John Mclntyre. Walter Larkins Alexander Leek Smith. AIR FORCE GROUND STAFF The Selection Committee of the Royal New Zealand Air Force sat in Dunedin yesterday at the Kensington Drill Hall for the purpose of interviewing applicants for positions with the non-flying personnel of the force. The committee will receive further applications at the Drill Hall up to 2 p.m. to-day. PROGRESS OF RECRUITING PLANS TO INTENSIFY CAMPAIGN (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON. Feb. 12. Delegates from the Civil Recruiting Committees in all the military areas will confer to-morrow with members of the Central Recruiting Committee to discuss plans and to co-ordinate and intensify the recruiting campaign for the third echelon and reinforcements. The object is to form a National Recruitins Committee, of which the delegates will become members. Arrangements have been made for members of the Cabinet to give addresses on various aspects of the Dominion’s war effort. luxury' life at sea A SOLDIER’S LETTER CONDITIONS ON TROOPSHIP (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, Feb. 12. Writing from a troopship at , sea, a member of the first echelon of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force described life as an absolute luxury after camp. “I am in a two-berth cabin,” he writes. “ The meals are first-class. For example, we have bacon, eggs, and tomatoes for breakfast. We cannot mention much about our movements, our ship, or convoy, but really it is a marvellous sight to see all these big ships in formation. Most of the day is spent in sports—boxing, wrestling, deck tennis, and deck quoits. One doesn’t feel much like a soldier, but really like a tourist. Still, what drill and parades we do have are not begrudged by anyone, and there is a distinct improvement both in health end bearing. We have had our vaccination.

“New badges have been issued. They bear two fern leaves enclosing the initials N.Z., with a crown on top and the word ‘ Onward ’ on a scroll underneath. Special boat drill is given occasionally, and at sunset a black-out is enforced, with all the portholes closed and everything in absolute darkness. Everything is cheap on board —cigarettes, tobacco, and beer.”