NEW RESERVE ARMY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27345, 22 March 1950, Page 5

NEW RESERVE ARMY

British Territorial Units To Be Reorganised

RECRUITING DIFFICULTIES

NZPA—Copyright Rec. 9 p.m. LONDON, Mar. 21. The Secretary of State for War, Mr John Strachey, announced in the House of Commons last night that Britain’s territorial army was to be reorganised and built up as the backbone of a new reserve army. Announcing the changes in the debate on the Army Estimates, Mr Strachey explained that x hey had been made to ensure the best use of trained national servicemen who will begin to flow into the territorial army and supplementary reserve next July. Mr Strachey said the strength of the regular army by April 1 would be about 185,000 including short service officers and men. The short service element amounted to 40 per cent, of the officer strength and nearly 16 per cent, of other ranks, but the reservoir for short service men was drying up. The present requirement for the regular army was some 350.000 with little prospect of any marked reduction by 1953. Measures had been taken to investigate means of increasing the number of national servicemen joining as regulars and the number of regulars contracting to serve longer periods.

Mr Strachey said that the tendency for a new overseas commitment for the army to appear whenever an old one had come to an end had precluded, especially during the past year, the building up of higher Regular army formations in Britain.

Three years ago the strength of the army- was 862,000. The total strength of the active army today was 376,000. Mr Strachey said that the use of national servicemen to help the army to meet its overseas commitments was unavoidable until these commitments decreased or until the number of regulars could be substantially increased. Overseas Commitments Referring to the army’s overseas commitments Mr Strachey said that the Government did not desire to retain large forces permanently in Hongkong, but it could not yet say when the situation in the Far East would permit the return of any of the troops stationed there. The gravest problem in the Far East remained the campaign in Malaya against organised terrorism, economic sabotage, and murder.

Mr Strachey said that it wgs hoped to reduce the total Middle East garrison during the coming year and to return to Britain as many troops as possible, including some units which should have become available when responsibility in Somaliland had been finally handed over. In Europe there had been no change in Britain’s occupational responsibility ' Mr Strachey said that it had been decided to readjust the structure of the Territorial Army. The number of major units would be reduced from 583 to 507. In due course virtually the whole of the Territorial Army would be composed of officers and men who had served their period of national service. Recruiting prospects did not look good, Mr Strachey said. With present high employment and high civilian wages he believed that recruiting would stabilise itself at the annual figure of 20,000 or even less. To maintain the strength of the Regular Army 30,000 recruits a year were needed. Foreign Legion Suggested

The Conservative, Sir George Jeffreys,! suggested that there should be an agreement among Commonwealth -countries on what assistance they would give Britain, in an emergency. Mr Reginald Paget (Labour) suggested forming a foreign legion, saying that in Europe there were first-class fighting men who would be only too glad to volunteer. “For Heaven’s sake,” he said, “let us get recruits. In Germany and all Central Europe, if you like. I do not care if they are ex-Nazis or ex-Com-munists. They could be brought together to form units, under British officers, which could perform admirable services in the Middle East.”