TAIHAPE NEWS

Wanganui Chronicle, 24 November 1950, Page 2

TAIHAPE NEWS

TRAINING OF YOUNG NEW ZEALANDERS IN DEFENCE SERVICE "Training the 18-year-olds," was the subject of an address given to the Taihape Rotary Club on Tuesday evening by Major E. G. Spraggon ot the A.E.W.S., Linton military eamp. He said that the young men who underwent three months training at Linton recently gave no trouble, and there was no "crime" in the sense that it is understood in the army. The lads responded well to discipline and were in fac a model of virtue. He had interviewed the young men and of the 630 lads trained at Linton there were not more than six who had resented being in the army. On entering camp, they were given an orientation address on all aspects of camp life. The training in the art of wars was more intensive than ever before attempted in so short a time. Social entertainment was arranged for leisure hours in the evening, but it was found that most of the boys were so tired after the day’s work that they retired to bed early. The recruits were all given tests to assess their reasoning ability, verbal capacity, mechanical and mathematical ability, and also their ability to carry out instructions. There was also an individual interview to find out all about a recruit’s background. The lads were given the job for which they were most suited, and everything was done to avoid vocational misfits of any kind. PUT ON WEIGHT “Every lad took part in at least five games and at the end of six weeks the 18-year-old recruits had put on 141bs in weight and at least one inch in height They ate off china plates on table cloths,” remarked the speaker who said that 1400 more 18-year-olds would be going into camp early next January. In Palmerston North the young recruits had been well looked after in the way of hospitality and entertainment at the week-ends. One committee headed by the mayor had attended to the hospitality side, and had arranged with local residents to take the young soldieit; into their homes at week-ends. Another committee ran the leave centre in Palmerston North and arranged dances for the lads. These functions were attended by many teen-age girls in the city and proved a great success. "You can’t just let young aoldiers loose in a town. You must provide entertainment for them,” declared the speaker, who hoped that something would be done In Taihape towards entertaining the 18-year-olds when they were in camp at Waiouru. IMPORTANCE OF WAIOURU CAMP The importance of Waiouru military camps was stressed by Major Spraggon, who said that it was going to be the camp in the North Island for 18-year-olds, the regular force and territorial units. Unless the army obtained sufficient numbers of competent instructors it could not do full justice to the training of the 18-year-old recruits and others, he said. People had said: “You’ll never hold these 18-year-olds. They have no discipline," but events had showed that such fears were groundless. “We are desperately short of personnel for the regular force and would appreciate more enlistments from men and women," concluded the speaker. The president of the Taihape Rotary Club, Mr. V. Smith, in thanking Maojr Spraggon for his address, said that the Rotary Club could take an ; interest in the entertainment of the : 18-year-olds. Taihape had done a great job in this respect during the war, and with a little organisation, the effort could be repeated, he said.