MORE DRAFTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24834, 6 February 1942, Page 4

MORE DRAFTS

TERRITORIAL GAMPS NEW SOUTHLAND UNIT Under the new mobilisation order to draft the majority of the single men drawn in ballots and not yet in camp, about 1400 men will be selected for territorial service,from the Otago military area and despatched to camp on February 17. ' The mobilisation will also include the establishment of a new camp in Southland, to which a party of between 100 and 200 men from Otago will be sent. The draft to' go south will be for infantry training. The 900 odd men chosen to enter camps in Canterbury will be for infantry, engineering, and artillery units, in addition to the Army Service Corps and the Southern Military District Signal Company. Later in the month a draft of between 50 and 100 men will go to another Canterbury camp to join the New Zealand Medical Corps. - , On account of. the extra numbers going to camp and the establishment of an entirely new battalion, there will be a great demand for more cooks. In the Otago area alone 30 are wanted, and as there has already been a substantial drain on men with such qualifications, it is anticipated that much difficulty will be experienced in filling the vacant billets... Men interested in such appointments will be interviewed at the Kensington Drill Hall by the officer in charge of records, Lieutenant H. J. Moynihan. .v Already a start has been made with the work of combing the files of the men available to fill the drafts; To avoid any hitch'at the last minute, brought about through appeals and withdrawals, the attitude to be adopted by the army will be that every appeal for exemption will be fought to the utmost. ;,v i ; : . ' ■

It is anticipated that even although the staff has been augmented, it will have to work in two shifts, as well as on Saturday and Sunday, to complete the drafts, so that notices may be posted out by Monday at the latest. The men required will therefore be given a clear .week to put their affairs in order before going to camp.