WAR WILL LAST TILL 1920.

Hokitika Guardian, 27 November 1917, Page 4

WAR WILL LAST TILL 1920.

UNLESS WE PULL OURSELVES TOGETHER.

London’, Nov 13

The British Director-General of Recruiting (Sir Auckland Geddes), in a speech at Plymouth on Monday, warned the nation that it must prepare to face a sterner trial than it had yet faced.

The war would drift on into 1920 and after unless they pulled themselves together for the mightiest effort in history. He wanted * a steady supply of labour to build aerodromes. There were ten thousand vacancies for men in urgent Government work, and they also immediately wanted ten thousand women for a women’s army auxiliary corps. It would he necessary also to make further heavy calls on the manhood of the country, in order to maintain the armies in the field. Sir Auckland Geddes added that they had card-in'dexed the whole army at Home, and hoped to bring back into civil life men permanently unfit for active service, but, if practical, to release the fit men. They hoped to raise hundreds of I thousands in this way. ' The time had come when all men of the higher grades were required for service. Thousands had been exempted in the past, bnt the country called these men, unless they were engaged in agriculture, munition work, mines, shipbuilding, railways, or the manufacture of army clothing or equipment.