MORE PASSED AS FIT

Southland Times, Issue 24536, 10 September 1941, Page 4

MORE PASSED AS FIT

OVER 50 PER CENT. IN NINTH BALLOT The percentage of men passed as fit for overseas service from those in the No. 12 (Invercargill) military district drawn in the ninth ballot is higher than in any previous ballot. Of the men from this area drawn in this ballot 1367 have been examined and 691, or just over 50 per cent., have been passed as fit. In the seventh ballot, of 1240 men examined 612, or just under 50 per cent., were passed as fit. Of the men in the fourth ballot 551 were passed as fit out of a total of 1254. This is considerably less than 50 per cent, and the percentage of fit men in the third ballot was even smaller, only 388 out of 878 being passed for overseas service. This gives a total of 4739 men in the four ballots and out of these 2242 or less than 50 per cent, were passed as fit. Of the men from No. 12 area drawn in six territorial ballots 2166 have been examined and of these 1166, or over 50 per cent., have been passed as fit. The higher percentage of fit men among those called for territorial service is attributed to the fact that they include a bigger proportion of young men. Of the 1367 ninth ballot men who have been examined, 609 have been classed as temporarily unfit and only 67 as permanently unfit. Men graded temporarily unfit are divided into three grades. Those in No. 1 grade may, after remedial treatment, be passed as fit for overseas service. Those in the second grade are fit for home defence and may later be sent to camp for territorial training. Men in the third grade are those who are considered fit for clerical duties only.