DOMINION DEFENCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 October 1940, Page 4

DOMINION DEFENCE

PROGRESS OF TERRITORIAL TRAINING. FORCE OF 44,000 BY MARCH NEXT. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) y WELLINGTON, This Day. “By March next we will have an armed force in New Zealand of 44,048 men,” said the Minister of Defence, Mr Jones, in the House of Representatives yesterday. This figure represented an increase of 28,000 on the prewar force. The Minister said the number of Territorials at the outbreak of war was 16,000 and the force supplied a large number of men for the Expeditionary Force. A decision was made to bring the force up to the war establishment of 25,985 and by March the men would have had three months’ training. A total of 9572 were in the additional units being established and the National Military Reserve totalled 8941. About 11,000 men would be going into camp for three months’ Territorial training and the last lot would enter camp in February. The force of 25,000 would provide a splendid defence force for New Zealand. All that meant expense in providing extra buildings and camps. Mr Polson (Opposition, Stratford): “Surely you have a better camp than Waiouru?”

Mr Jones replied that Waiouru was a very healthy and central place. The experts had recommended the camp, where most of the Territorial training would be done in the autumn, spring and summer.