N.Z. FORCES

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 102, 27 October 1945, Page 8

N.Z. FORCES

STATISTICAL RECORD

MOBILISATION FIGURES

Fifty-seven per cent, of all men between the ages of 18 years and 45 years were mobilised during the war recently ended either for home or overseas service, compared with less than 45 per cent, of the men of similar age groups called in the war of 1914----18. Comparative figures of the men mobilised to the three services in this and the last wars were given by the Minister of Defence (Mr. Jones) today.

From 1939 to 1945, 135,000 men and women of the 205,000 mobilised left New Zealand for service overseas with the three branches of the forces. In the last war, of the 124,211 men mobilised, 100,444 served overseas. Of the total of 205,000 (including 9700 women) who served in the forces from 1939 to 1945, 146,000 were in the Army, 48,000 in the Air Force, and 11,000 in the Navy. Allowance has been made in compiling the figure of 205,000 for transfers from one service to another and for men who were recalled to camp after being placed on leave without pay or after discharge; ho man has been counted twice. In the war of 1914-18, 192 men from New Zealand served with the Royal Flying Corps, and there were 750 naval ranks and ratings. In 1943 there were 37,100 men with the Air Force and the strength of the Royal New Zealand Navy, in August of this year was 9400 men.

ROYAL .N.Z. NAVY,

H.M.S. Philomel, a training ship, was the only naval vessel attached to New Zealand at the outbreak of war in 1914. She was on active service overseas until she returned and paid off in 1917. This war hundreds of vessels, from cruisers to motor launches, have served with the R.N.Z.N.

The Maori in this war has been asked to take his full share of front-line fighting. The Maori Battalion went overseas with the--Second Echelon of the N.Z.E.F.; it has taken part in the fighting in Greece, Crete, Libya, and Italy, and as a fighting unit has-gained a world-wide reputation. Since 1942, its commanding officers have been Maoris, except for the period September, 1943, to July, 1944, when pakeha officers were in command. Approximately 5300 Maoris were accepted for service overseas; at no time was there difficulty in providing reinforcements for the Maori Battalion. In the war of 1914-18, when it was generally felt that, a population which was then declining should be spared the decimation of war, only a few more than 2000 Maoris left New Zealand for service overseas.

Complete and true figures of the number of volunteers for the three services during the war are not available, nor can they be estimated, but in October, 1940, when the first ballot was drawn, there were serving with the Army 64,000 volunteers (including Territorials). Service with the Air Force and Navy has remained voluntary throughout, but of the 205,000 who have served in the Forces since the beginning of the war the great proportion was called by ballot —not necessarily because of a shortage of volunteers, but because of general feeling that compulsion for all was more just in a democratic country than was a voluntary system. In the last war of the 124,211 men who served at home and overseas, only 32,000 were sent to camp after being called by ballot under the Military Service Act, 1916: the greatest proportion were volunteers.

WOMEN'S PART.

Women have taken a more active part with the, services of this war. At the end of March, 1944, nearly 8000 women (including' members of the New Zealand Army Nursing Service which had a peak strength of more than 400) were serving in New Zealand and overseas with the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force. The Women's War -Service Auxiliary had a total membership of 75,000 and the strength in 1944 of the Women's Land Service was more than 2000. In the last war 550 women of the New Zealand Nursing Service left for overseas.

The greatest number of men Avithdrawn from industry at one time was 170,000 in September, 1942. In addition to those serving in the Armed Forces, thousands of New Zealanders, men and women, were enrolled in civilian defence forces. Peak strength of the Home Guard was 123,242; of tho E.P.S., 160,000. There was, of course, no comparable civilian defence force in the last war.