NATIONAL RESERVE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2705, 26 February 1916, Page 3

NATIONAL RESERVE

• ♦ " LYALL BAY SECTION.The first annual general meeting of the Lyail Bay and South Kilbirnie section of tho 0 Company of'"the National Reserve was held in the Kilbirnie Hall on Thursday evening. Mr. James Doyle occupied tho chair.- Major Townsend, Captain Haclcworth, ami a fair number of the members of the_Re- ! serve were present.' A number of those present addressed the meeting. The speaker included the chairman, Major Townsend, and Captain .Hackworth. The speakers all agreed that a very critical time in the life of the reservehad been reached, and that the oliicers should leave no stone unturned to in-: crease enthusiasm. They-made it plaui that every man in the district should find' out, if he did not already know, m what-way he could do his "little bit",, towards assisting the Empire, and' it' was urged that the ranks of the National Reserve afforded just the opportunity for doing this. The advantages of belonging to a well-organised and disciplined body in time of need woru

clearly shown, and it was stated that those who hold back are not only acting foolishly, but also selfishly, as they aro, robbing others of the 'opportunity/ of becoming proficient. After the report and balance-sheet had been adopted, the meeting piocecdcd to elect the committee. _ Mr. James Doyle was re-electcd chairman; Mr. H. Page secretary,, Mr. James ,Ty Robinson treasurer, and Messrs. Percy Easson, E. C. Jack, and H. Ward members. The officers were ex-officio members.

A special vote of thanks was accorded to Sergeant-Major Lang, who l'.ad spared neither time nor patienco. in instructing the unit, in military drill., Lieutenant Charles Ashton, of the 11th Reinforcements, and Mr.- C. B. Willis; also ill camp, wero accorded votes of thanks for the part they had taken, as former ofliccrs of the unit. A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded tho procoedings.i PETONE UNIT. At last evening's parade of the Petone Unit of tho National. Reserve, thero was a good attendance, • Lieut.Anderson being the O.C. The platoon paraded at, tho recreation ground, and in spite of tho darkness, some, good lino marching was exhibited, under the instruction of Sergt.-Major Stewart. After dismissal, the annual meeting-'of' the unit was held, Lieut. Anderson occupying the chair. The report stated that considerable progress • had been made in tho movement during tho past year. Sergt.-Major Ryan conducted a non.-com.'s class during' tho winter, i which had been .well attended, hut. on,account of his duties in respect to military matters ho had been compelled reluctantly to abandon, it.. v The Petono Working Men's Club had offered the. use of their miniature riflo -range to members, on two nights in each week, and the.offer-had been readily accepted. In this connection a word of praise was dutf to Mr. J. Wood for coaching members. Later it was deemed advisablo to obtain a range of their own, qnd permission having been obtained from the Area Scrgeant-Major, and acting in conjunction with the Railway Department';, a first-class range was erected at tho Drill Hall. Two shooting matches wero held against the Working Men's Club, both of which were lost, and two ngain:st tho Hutt Unit, which were won by Putone. A team will be relected shortly to compete against -Hutt for the Wilford Cup, which is to be fired Cor on March 22. An inter-section competition was held last. December and resulted in a shield, presented bv Mr. H. Palmer, being won by No. 1 section, under Corporal Smith. The unit had been very fortunate in obtaining such ready help from Sergt.-Majors Ryan and Stowart. The miniature rifles, ordered some time ago, have now- bepn procured by Private Baker in England, and will arrive shortly. Regarding jtlio signalling, section the thanks of the unit aro duo to Mr. R. Fox, who lias given his services as an expert", in order to make the squad efficient. Tlui following have been made honorary members:—Messrs. H. J. Palmer.. Dr. Ross, D. Burke, W. G.' Lodder, J. Kerr, J. W. Sharpc, A. Pindlay, F. J. Reid, and' the caretaker of the Drill Hall (Mr. Barlow). HUTT AND PETONE RAILWAY •UNITS. At tho last parade of the Hutt and Potone Railway Unit of the National Reserve, there was a fair muster of inombers, Licyt. Simons being the O.C. Lieut. Miller also attended. The chief feature of the evening was a test of "barrel pier building," under the direction of tho instructor, Sergt. Bland. Tho work, when completed, drew some complimentary remarks from tile instructor.' It was intimated during the evening that the annual meeting would bo held on Tuesday next at tho Town Hall. Wellington, at 8 p.m., and all members attending would be credited with a parade.

LOWER. HTJTT UNIT. The Lower Hutt unit of the National Reserve paraded at the Drill Hall oh Thursday evening. There was a fair attendance, and several new members ivero present. After parade shooting practice J was held on the new range, and some very.aood scores wore recorded. Iu

future the signalling class will meet for , j instruction on Wednesday evunings, and j the rifle range will also be open for j shooting practice on Wednesdays. " j A LECTURE ON TRENCHES. ; The monthly meeting of officers of .. ,/ the National Reserve, Wellington, dis- ! triet, will be lield in Bethune's llooms' on Wednesday next, and after business I will take the form of an instructive .lecture by Major Sleomaii on "Tren- i ches, and their Importance in Modem j Warfare.".; -Major Sleeman ;spent ; twelve months fighting in the trenches | in Flanders, and besides being an able ;. lecturer, lias an intimate knowledge of ilie subject. Major Sleeman has very 1 recently arrived from England,, under | ■ engagement to the Defence Department, j Tire Hon. the Prime Minister, Sir j Jo.iepn Ward, Hon. Ja's. Allen, and "Hon. R. M'Nab will bo present should 1 their duties allow. , I A BIG REUNION. ■ ' j ■■ Tlio Teunion of members of the N'a- , tienal. Reserve of Wellington Group o, which is being held next Tuesday even- ! ing in tf>,e Tommi Hall, is being looked ' forward to with great interest. 'Die j gathering marks the conclusion - of-a ; year's work, and the entering upon j of a new phase, .wherein the movement | ia to be "developed under - -regulationa , framed'upon the provisions of tlie'Aet I of last jxtar. Among those who" hdve j signified their intention of being pre- : sent are tho Right Hon. the Prime ! Miuistor, Sir -Joseph Ward, the Hon. I J. Allen, and Brigadier-General Robin. Besides the brief speeches which are i 'to be made, there will bemusical items '• • from talent mem- ; bers of tho rese'rver A .very enjoyable ; gathering is being looked forward to. . I