WAR TIME GLORY

Hokitika Guardian, 14 May 1929, Page 7

WAR TIME GLORY

OF THE “TERRIERS.” LONDON, April 1. Tlu* Territorial Army comes of age Co-dav. It was on April 1, 1 DOS , that an Army order came into force abolish mg the old Volunteer and Yeomanry units and creating the new Territoria Forces.

Twenty-one years, and in that tim - the Great War when a quarter of a million Territorials embodied for war service on the outbreak o'l hostilities stood in the breach for England whilthe new armies were being formed. From the change in the old volunteer corps the nation had been preparing for some two years, ft was part of f,"rd Haldane’s great plan of .Army reform which he announced in the House of Commons on duly 12, 1900. He reduced the Regular Forces by 20,000 men and announced that “fin iincial consideration compel us to look to the Yeomanry and Volunteers for expansion of the regular forces and for home defence.” Hut—-“ the Wai Office has broken down as a mean of organising the Volunteer Army am! unless you give some kind of Home Rule to the Volunteers you will not get effective service out of them.” SLOW RECRUITING. The phase “territorial force” ct> curred quite casually at the end o Lord Haldane’s speech, and that was the beginning of the new name aim idea, which soon became official. - Lord Esher presided over a committee which was appointed to consider the creation oil’ the.new Forte and the work o! County Territorial Associations. The plan drawn up by that committee was adopted—it remains indeed practically unaltered in essentials o! rgaiiisation until this day. Parliament m 1907 agreed to vote sums ol money to the County Associations for recruiting and so on, and so the way was made clear for the birth ol tin* now Force 21 years ago. ft was not at first a success. Members of the old Yoemanry and A oluntcor units were .pressed to re-enlist in the corresponding new Territorial unit Only about onc-third of them did so .Many whose pride was shaken when the old units were abolished scorned the new thing. Recruiting was slow and by .the beginning of 1909 the now Territorial Force was woefully below establishment. APPEAL TO “THE DAILY MAIL.” ■ It was raised to the full strength in a few days by one of the most wonderful of all the national campaign under by The Daily Mail. On February 3,1909, Lord Esher asked “The Daily Mail” to make an appeal for men for service m the Territorials ,more especially in the County of London Territorial Force. “AVe want men,” he said, and asked ■for 11,000 recruits in London.

Exactly three weeks later in a memorandum to commanding officers he wrote: “ AA T e wanted men; we have now obtained them.” Many units, in fact, had long waiting lists of recruits, and the boom- in London was successfully spread to all the other counties. The three weeks’ campaign which produced this great result was aided by a gift of £IO,OOO from an anonymous reader of “The Daily Mail, and great as the task was it became clear at the start that success could lie won. Lauge employers of labour were approached by “The Daily Mail,” and without exception promised generous assistance.

There were conferences with local authorities, addresses at local theatres, distributions of thousands of leaflets at football matches and elsewhere, and recruiting route marches by loc-a forces.

WAVE OF ENTHUSIASM. The result was to create an immense wave ol' patriotic ardour. There were long queues of young men at the recruiting offices, and the stream grew so rapidly that in one night alone more than a thousand new Territorials were sworn in at the London headquarters office alone. 'Fhe stimulus thus given could not be maintained. Most df the men who en listed in M.'Off d... so for three years’ service and did not renew their en gagement. Consequently there was again a serious falling off in number. in 1912, which continued to cause anxi ety u util the outbreak of war two years later. During this time Lord Heberts re newed with vigour his campaign for national service, and the gaps in the rallies of the Territorials furnished with potent hut unavailing arguments. The Territorials were mobilised for war in August 191-1. The terms o their enlistment committed them t'> home defence only, hut 80 per cent of them instantly volunteered for fighting abroad and served with distinction in all parts of the world. They came into their own in France at' Nemo Chapelie, when, wrote Lord French, the Commuiider-iii-Chiof, “they acou it ted themselves with the utmos credit.” RECRUITS NEEDED NOW. Since the war the terms of recruit ment have been altered and the Territorials are in certain circumstance; liable for foreign service. Their training and equipment is of the finest, bu' there is again a shortage of men. . On March 1 last the Force consisted, of ff.(533 officers mid 131,055 men, and tuns needed 1,099 officers and 41,4.°f men to complete its establishment. Recruits are specially needed by tin London Territorial units, which, mini boring at present 9 ’3 officers and 15,02 f men, are approximately short of 20( officers and 10,000 men. A special recruiting campaign in con portion with the “ coming-of-age ” ol the Territorials is being undertaken by the London Territorial Association.