MILITARY CAMP

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21280, 25 February 1939, Page 21

MILITARY CAMP

RECRUITING SUSPENDED One. of the largest and most important military camps to be organised in the district, since the years just after the Great War, will be held at Cave from March 8 to 15. Instructions and manoeuvres have been arranged with the benefit of the latest equipment available in the country, including the famous Bren guns. Major G. R. Lee, officer commanding the South Canterbury (Support) Company, explained some of the arrangements to a reporter yesterday. The estimated attendance will be 500 men, including a unit of the Army Service Corps, to provide a troopcarrying company and a second line of transport. It is anticipated that the South Canterbury contingent will number about 150 men—setting up a new attendance record for the district. Demonstrations of the new Bren gun—a very light, rapid-firing machine-gun, invented in Czechoslovakia—will be given by personnel from Trentham. The Timaru Boys’ High School Cadet Company will also co-operate in the manoeuvres on the Saturday, at Kingsdowi.. Night firing exercises v'lll be held by the Support Company on the Sunday, and on Monday afternoon a sports meeting will be held. A large influx of visitors is expected to view the ceremonial march past of the battalion on Saturday afternoon, and parking provision will ue made for 1000 cars, while a special excursion train will probably be run to Cave by the Railway Department.

The whole unit will be motorised, with the use of three-ton trucks, vans and a number of motor-buses.

A bathing pool is being provided by the damming of the river at the camp. All units will participate in two days’ field firing, in which 40,000' to 50,000 rounds of small-arms (ammunition will be used.

The South Canterbury units will concentrate at. the Pleasant Point Domain, arriving there by motor at 10.30 a.m. on the Wednesday, and, after organisation and checking-up, will proceed to Cave, arriving there at about noon. Recruiting into South Canterbury platoons has now been temporarily suspended, as the unit is actually above its full establishment strength. - Waiting lists have already been established in the country centres, and now bear a good number of names.