SPECIAL MILITARY FORCE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVII, Issue 21449, 13 September 1939, Page 6

SPECIAL MILITARY FORCE

Voluntary Enlistment i Total of 116 in South Canterbury Fine Type Offering In common with the rest of the Dominion, recruiting for the special military force for service within or beyond New Zealand commenced in Timaru yesterday, and up till 5 o'clock last evening, the official hoar at which registrations for the day ceased, the enrolments totalled 116. The Defence Office in Timaru is the only recruiting centre for South Canterbury. and the registrations included men from all parts of the district. Tn fact, several of the ecruits came from as far north as the '’ublic Works camp at Mayfield When the office opened at 9 o’clock there was : queue of men waiting to en .st. and up till neon the Recruiting Officer (Lieutenant Ivimey) and his three assistants experienced a vety busy time. It is necessary for recruits to fill in three forms, whibh takes some time, and it wis • estimated that the rate bf enrolment was about 20 an hour. The appeal for the special force was fnf men betw.cn the ages of 21 and 35, but more detailed information on this point was avail- ble yesterday. Young meh who will be 21 on October 3 next are being accepted, but the, maximum age is set down at 35, and is being rigidly adhered to. Of those enrolled yesterday very .ew were married, by far the greater number being

from 21 to 25. Au r o' officers were also included in the total. Another notable point about the recruits wa that most of them had had previous military training. The registrations revealed that those who had not had previous training were mostly from the country districts. Too Old and Too Young The Recruiting Officer informed a representative of “The Timaru Herald” that the men offering were of a splendid type the '•verage height being about sft Bin. Not one had to be rejected because he was under the minimum height. One young fellow, who gave his age as 51. offered his services, but needless to say he was nor required to fill in the necessary forms. As against this one recruit gave his age as 19-1, and he wns very disappointed when told that his services could not be accepted, particularly as he had cycled 20 miles to enlist. He then offered his services in the territorials, but again without success, as the minimum age for this force is 20 years. Three returned soldiers presented their discharges, but in their case th? minimum age limit proved a tar. accurate guide as to tie occupations of the mir offering was not available, but it was indicated that they represented all ’ nes. It was apparent that specialist tradesmen were not numerous in the total enrolled. A WONDERFUL RESPONSE ENLISTMENTS TOTAL 6655 Bv Telegraph —Press Association WELLINGTON. September 12. Before the House rose to-night the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, in a statement on the recruiting figures for the special military force, which opened to-day. said the response by the young men of this country had been wonderful. Up to 9 o’clock tonight the figures were as follows: Auckland 1279 Paeroa 466 Whangarei 356 Hamilton 530 Total for Northern District 2631 Wellington 1157 Wanganui 353 Napier 540 Hawera 444 Total for Centra] District 2494 Nelson 300 Christchurch 620 1 Dunedin 330 Invercargill 280 Total for Southern District 1530 Grand total .. 6655 In addition there had been a won- , derfui Response to the appeal for recruits for the Air Force. He though) that members would join wi.th him ir expressing appreciation to the men who had so quickly responded, tt the appeals that had been made. (Applause.) OFFER BY MAORIS By reiegrapn —Press Association GISBORNE. September 12. An enthusiastic meeting of Maor elders decided to renew to the Government the offer made in 1914 to recruit a Maori regiment for service, be side and on identical terms with an? European force raised in New Zealand