VITALLY NECESSARY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 November 1941, Page 4

VITALLY NECESSARY

TRAINING OF TERRITORIALS. NEED OF DEFENDING ARMY. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, November 17. The importance of employers realising that it was vitally necessary to have an adequately trained Territorial army available for home defence was emphasised by the chairman, Mr J. S. Barnett when the Manpower Committee was dealing with an appellant who said that the firm he represented would not appeal for the reservist concerned when he was called up for overseas service. “That appears.curious to me,” Mr Barnett said, “when you say you will not appeal for a man when he is called to go overseas. We have an impression and we are convinced it is right, that the Territorial forces of this country are bound to play a more important part in the defence of the country, even more important than the part played by men overseas.. We are bound to consider the possibility that these shores might be attacked at any time, and it is the duty of the army to train these forces to resist such attacks. Territorial service is bound to be most important.” A representative of the army authorities, Captain G. H. Anderson, said. “It is very much on the cards that something might boil over with Japan. It is impossible to accept the theory that these men should not be allowed to undergo this training.” Later Captain Anderson said: “We must train them as an army, not as individuals now. That is the training they will go through in the next two months. The greater part of it will be on manoeuvres.”