APPOINTMENTS IN HOME GUARD

Southland Times, Issue 24524, 27 August 1941, Page 6

APPOINTMENTS IN HOME GUARD

Area Adjutant And Two Instructors According to advice received by Captain W. Bell, commander of the Home Guard for No. 12 (Invercargill) j area, Mr W. J. Leith, of Benmore, has i been appointed area adjutant and Staffi Sergeant F. Rogers, of Mabel Bush, and I Mr G. L. Smart, of Winton, have been I appointed instructors. When the ap- | pointments are confirmed after a probationary period, Mr Leith will have the rank of captain and the two instructors the rank of warrant officer, Class 2. The three men will go to Trentham early next month for four months’ special training. I Mr Leith’s duties as adjutant will be 'to supervise Home Guard training, i particularly in the country districts, and Ito arrange the work of the two ini' structors. He is at present commander ] of the Winton district battalion of the I Home Guard. He attended a special i course of instruction at Trentham last I February. Mr Leith served in the last I war, going overseas with the 13th i Reinforcements. He was wounded at 1 the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and during the last year if the war was a Lewis gun instructor. For the past eight months Staff-Ser-geant Rogers has been on the instructional staff at Burnham. He was a Main Body man in the last war and served with the Otago Regiment on Gallipoli and in France. Mr Smart also served in the last war. He is sergeant-major of the Winton company of the Home Guard. He is a brother of Captain A. C. Smart, of Invercargill, who is at present stationed at Burnham camp. The following members of the Home Guard in No. 12 area will leave on Friday morning for Burnham camp for a 10 days’ course of special instruction:— H. M. Moffat (Colac Bay), A. Officer (Clifden), L. Stevens (Otapiri), A. E. Wixon (Bluff), R. Acton (Waikiwi), A. M. Wilson (Winton) and J. McHardy (Woodlands). Captain Bell stated yesterday that there seemed to be some misconception about Division II of the Home Guard. He wanted to make it clear that the division was an essential part of the Home Guard, and from information he had just received it appeared certain that the men of this division would also be fully equipped.