WANTED, 1000 MEN
AT ONCE
DEFENCE DEPARTMENTS APPEAL
POSITIONSERIOUS
Yesterday tlie, Defence Department issued an, appeal, for,men. The substance of tho. request is that 1000 meu are urged to register at once. The state of recruiting, it is stated, is giving 'the Department grave concern. Men were not coming forward in nearly sufficient numbers, and if the situation was not remedied immediately the matter would be fcerious. It had been represented _ that tlve reason for' the present hanging back was that eligible men did not wish to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays in camp, but if this was true the Department considered that it could only be due to failure on the part of Zealand manhood to understand the urgency of the call. The statement proceeds:—
"Tho position is that 1000 men are wanted to register at once to make up 600 men, tile balance required for tlio' infantry of the 11th Reinforcements going into camp oil December 14. If these men are not forthcoming by the required date ■ it will mean that New Zealand for tho fir6t time will have failed to fulfil the definite pledge she 'has given to tlie Imperial Government, and, more than that, that -we will have failed in our duty to our own Foice in the field by not maintaining them at the strength required. It ha,s been ' suggested that the number might easily be made np after Christmas. So they might, but that will involve ferious consequences. If •lie draft is to receive the full period of training arranged for, it follows that it will, depart at a- later date. TViat, in other words, means that i:t will arrive at the front behind its due time, with consequences which no one can 1 foretell. But thic is by no means the most serious aspect of the question. "A more grave- matter is that if the llt.hs nre a fortnight or three weeks late behind the scheduled time in leaving, the departure of subsequent drafts will be delayed in pronortioivthe reason being that the time-table for tlie transports has been so narrowed down tbiit they cannot nossibly get back in time to complete future engagements. , ' There remain only two alternatives— (1) To send tlie lltlis away seriously short. (2) If the draft is made un later to sei|d a very considerable number of '.the men awav only partially trained on the due: dato." Tlie objections to the first of these alternatives had already been dealt with. Tlie second would mean that not only would a large number of the men no awav not fully trained, but that the efficiency of tlie whole draft would suffer as a result. Under these circumstances the Defence authorities .in-, pealed with confidence to the eligible men of New Zealnnd to fill up tho ranks at once. They did not believe that, knowing the position, JOOO men could not ha found who would be willing to forego their.Christmas and NewYear holidays in order to meet most urgent requirements. CITY STATE CATCHING UP THE SHORTAGE Only- four fit men were registered in the City yesterday. ' Three signed on for infantry. One of the ■ three ; will not go into camp before Christmas, another is going in to-day, so. that it is only possible for the day's ~ work to help-the December force to the extent of one infantryman. . Nevertheless, Wellington is creeping up toward its quota for the Eleventh draft, which is needed by December 14. The guota has been slightly altered, and now reads:—
Wellington's only shortage of men for the Eleventh draft lies ,in the infantry arm. The City commenced the week' just over 70 infantry short, and the latest return shows a shortage of only 15. ' The City's present state is. shown as. under:—
There are n.0.0.'s awaiting selection in the following numbers:— : Mounted, 15; Artillery, 30; Engineers, 15; Signal Service, 5; Infantry, 41; A.S.C.. 11; Ambulance, 8; Veterinary, 1; Machine-gunners, 1. Total. 127. ' . ' There are 70 men registered in the city group for A.S.C. On Wednesday next there is to be a settling day for this arm of the service. It has been decided to Tetain thirty of; the most suitable men on. the books, to select five for the Eleventh Reinforcements, and to ohoose five as permanent men for training camp work. The remaining thirty are to be given i an opportunity of joining tlio infantry. It is understood that tho opportunity must be embraced at once or the chance will bo lost. Making Up Shortages. Three men are to be sent' into camp to-day as a small contribution towards the numbers required to fill up South Island shortages in the Tenth Reinforcements. The three are John. Gourlay, Denis Devine, and David Donelan. There are yet many shortages in the Tenth Reinforcements to be made good, and men who wish to be sent to camp at once should apply at Garrison Hall, Buckle Street. Tlio four fit men enrolled yesterday were:— Edward Douglas, golfer, Kilbimie (Infantry). John Maxwell, farrier, city (Veterinary Corps). Ernest E. Cox, city (Infantry). David Donelan, barman, city (Infantry). '
Mounted 34 Artillery 31 '• Engineers 13 , Signal Service 6 , Infantry J.4'4 A.S.C 5 Ambulance 8 , . 241
Fit and ' available Week's .for rejecFit. Deo. 14. tions. Mounted 68 84 2 Artillery 187 31' 2 Engineers i 56 14 > 5. Signal Service ... 21 6 — Infantry 136 129 17 A.S.C 70 5 2 Ambulance 37 8 2 Hospital Ship .... 2 — — Veterinary ....... 20 — ~ Skilled Tuimellers 1 — — Totals 598 227 30
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Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2634, 3 December 1915, Page 6
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913WANTED, 1000 MEN Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2634, 3 December 1915, Page 6
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