THE HOME GUARD

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 204, 26 August 1940, Page 5

THE HOME GUARD

MINISTER MEETS LOCAL BOD\ "T REPRESENTATIVES THE ARMS AND AMMUNITION ; QUESTION By far the most important |« put to the Hon. D. WilHr*- son, associate-Minister of National Service, at the meeting •of Whakatane and Opotiki Bor--oughs' and Counties' Council's 1 and R.S.A. representatives on Saturday night, was that relating to the provision of arms and ammunition to members of the Home Guard, when formed. Both . in answer to questions and as a / . i. reiterated elaboration, the Minister was at some pains to ex- 1 plain that both rifles and amp "munition would be made avail~able—in limited quantities, and vior training purposes only. "In welcoming the Hon. D. Wilsor "His Worship the Mayor of Whaka tane, Mr B. S. Barry, said he Ava [pleased to see such a fully repre tentative attendance of the two bor •oughs and counties. He did not thin] 3t necessary to assure the Ministei that if the men of the district wen supplied with arms; ,and ammunition jnothing more re q u i rec^" v Minister's" Address. He was no orator, said the Minister, but the outlining of the schema for home defence needed no eloquence. The main point was , that there was a potential danger confronting New Zealand and the Home Guard, as contemplated, would be •of much assistance if the danger materialised. The scheme originated because Mir isters were receiving letters from those unable to join the military forces but who were anxious to do their bit. The Hon R. Semple. alone "had received upwards of a thousand .letters of this nature. That all details had not yet been 'formulated! Avas expressed by the • speaker when he said that the organisers had not yet got down tc crosj Ing all the 't's' and dotting all the 'i's. But the frameAVork Avas planTied and many of the details, Avhich were bound to be affected by local - conditions, Avould be left in the hands of the area controllers. Co-ordination Avas thp keynote oi the scheme, said the Minister, and in connection with emergency pre- • cautions, in which the Hon Ministei - of Internal Affairs had had thfc loyaJ and efficient support of the iocai bodies, he had heard of and seen the success attending this effort in vari•ous districts. "Yeomen" or "Guardsmen"? Mr Wilson then outlined the sch- ■ eme for Home Guards at some length but revealed nothing more than had -already been made public, except that, regarding the proposed areas, - he said it Avould probably be found necessary to more than sixteen rsub-districts, and that, although the title 'Yeomen' had been suggested for the rank and file of the formation, 'Guardsmen' Avas to be preferred. Major points in the succeeding portion of the Minister's address were that the necessary rifles and ammunition required for training purposes Avould be made available, meaning that rifles Avould not be issued to each guardsman for individual care and use; that uniforms nvould not be issued, except if, and when, the body had to be taken over *by tlie military authorities; local bodies would be given permission to spend AA T liateA"er money was necessary for formation costs and! _ -clerical Avork; and that any existing organisation formed Avithout official recognition (the Legion of Frontiersmen was instanced) would have to be invited to join the Home Guard ■ —as individuals, not a body. Again stressing that stocks of ammunition and rifles Avere sufficient to supplj- the Home Guard 1 , if the need arose, the Minister concluded: "I feel sure that you will fall in behind the Government and assist to the utmost." The Basic Consideration. In answer to Mr J, T. Merry, Opo tiki County Clerk, the Minister said that 'there Avould be no trouble' in •connection Avitli arms andi ammunition but reserves had to be built up. It Avas proposed that the Home Guard training should commence from the elementary stage, physical training. Clause 18 of the synopsis of the scheme, he said, should read "Arms or equipment will not be Issued EXCEPT FOR TRAINING PUR POSES."

In assuring the Minister of R.S.A support, Mr F. W. K. Raymond president of the Whakatane branch, was of the opinion that in the cities, where office and factory work was the main feature, physical traininj should come first. But farming, am out-door life generally was the ruk in this district and physical 'jerks' would not be too popular. "The members here want to get into it," said Mr Raymond, and added that an assurance that rifles would be available at drilling points would be welcomed. "There has been a sud gestion of route marches. Well, I have heard a farmer say that lie does enough of that over the paddocks." Continuing, Mr Raymond said that the supplying of arms was essential to the continued interest and keenness of the men. No Guarantee. "We can't guarantee a rifle for every man," said Mr Wilson, in replying. "There will be a number at drilling points and it is suggested that they will be used for training by one company, while companies arc engaged in field instruction: each company having arms training in rotation. We don't want thousands of rifles scattered all over New Zealand. The matter of stages of training, of course, will be one for the Group commanders of the Home Guard. If this is a farming district and physical drill is unneces sary, the comanmders will know what to do." The Minister, replying to a further question by Mr Raymond, said the provision of machine guns also would be a matter for the commanders and the military authorities, betAveen whom there would necessarily have to be collaboration. "It looks as though we have beaten the gun," said Mr E. R. Baigent, Opotiki R.S.A., when adivising the Minister that that body already had an organisation built on military lines and including a squadron of mounted men. Mr Baigent assured the Minister of the R.S.A. support and Mr Wilson, in acknowledgment, said!-he was glad to learn that Opotiki possessed the nucleus of a mounted force. The County View. An admission that he was conversant with the emergency precautions scheme only in a general and vague way was made by the Minister in -reply, to the County Chairman, Mr J. L. Burnett, who stated that a scheme for the county had already been drafted which covered every phase and every contingency. As a local body the Whakatane County Council-was concerned with emergency precautions as a whole and it was necessary to have a plan prepared, for instance, to cover evacuation of civilians. If that were necessary where would the evacuees go? Who would look after them? The Home Guard did not cover those points but as a local body the council was held responsible for those people, not only for the Home Guard. 'As indicated, the Minister's reply was vague and indefinite. Two important points raised were those relating to observations of 'Fifth Columnists' and the power of local committees to exclude from the Home Guard men fitted for service in other and essential capacities. In reply to the former the Minister said it was a matter for the police and regarding the lattep, local committees could request applicants to perform certain services. Two Resolutions. Mr W. A. Gualt expressed the Opotiki County Council's support of the scheme aiid the in thanking the Minister for his attendance, assured him of the represented local bodies' backing. Mr Wilson left after a vote of thanks. Two resolutions were passed. One, that the Opotiki and Whakatane areas work separately and the other suggested an enrolment form which gave the local committee the rightof allotment of applicants to various duties. These will be forwarded to the Hon. R. Semple.