THIRD ECHELON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24296, 13 May 1940, Page 6

THIRD ECHELON

LATEST REGISTRATIONS SEVEN NEW RECRUITS There were seven new applications for registration with the third echelon of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force cn Saturday. The names of two of the applicants are given below, the other five not being for publication:— Group 2 (Single Men) Thomas Russell. Clarence Edward Lewis. TRANSFER OF MEN ASSURANCE BY MINISTER (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, May 11. Assurances that as far as possible any transfers cf men from one military district to another would be confined to single men was given by the Minister of Defence, Mr F. Jones, in an interview to-day when explaining the procedure adopted by the Defence authorities in this connection. There had always been a certain amount of movement of men away from their home district, the Minister said. There was no present intention of transferring men from Auckland to meet the shortage in any other district, but owing entirely to the difficulty that had been experienced in fitting in units of the third echelon to the existing accommodation in the camps it had been found necessary to send some of the infantry reinforcements recruited in the northern district to Burnham for training. The preposed distribution would enable the department to make the best of the available accommodation and at the same time keep the units and their reinforcements together. “As far as possible all men who volunteer are allowed to state the arm of the service which they prefer,” Mr Jones said, “ and as far as possible due regard is given to their wishes, but it is not possible to meet every individual case. The number of men available for the third echelon is more than sufficient and if a larger number than is required for any arm state a preference for that arm some cf them necessarily must be drafted to another arm of the service.”