HOME GUARD

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXVI, Issue 245, 17 October 1942, Page 6

HOME GUARD

INQUIRY COMMITTEE'S FINDINGS. ' ! i DEFENCE MINISTER 'S STATEj MENT. I Recommendations of the Committee cf Inquiry of the War Council on the Home Guard and a report containing comments on them by the General Officer Commanding the New Zealand Milifcary, Forces, LieutenantGeneral E, Puttick, were tabled in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. A statement was also issued by the Minister for Defence, Mr Jones, who said that the report had been considered by the Government and had also been discussed with Lieutenant - General Puttick and officers of his staff and the DirectorGeneral of the Home Guard, Brigadier R. Young. The report, which covers a wide field, emphasises the fine spirit and keenness of the Home Guard. The committee, which consisted of Mr Perry, M.L.C., chairman, MajorGeneral Sir Andrew Russell, Mr Lowry, M.P., and Mr Tirikatene, M.P., was set up following representations made in March last year by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Holland. Meetings were held in the four main centres, where evidence was taken. Officers at Army Headquarters, Wellington, were also examined by the committee. ; " I wish to pay a warin tribute to the members of the committee for the painstaking and thorough manner in which they conducted the inquiry on behalf of the Government, ' ' said the Minister. "The report they made is a most able and valuable one."

In discussions with the General Officer Commanding and senior officers at Headquarters, subsequent to the submission of the report, the committee stated that they were aware that action had been taken, or was being taken, by the Army in respect of many of the comments and recommendations included in the report, but as these matters had come before them they had thought it advistable to refer to them. The main featuresf of the report, together with an outline of the action already taken or to be taken, are dealt with by the Minister in the following paragraphs : — In deciding the role to be played by the Home Guard in the defence of the country, the committee proposed that those battalions in areas most immediately essential for defence should be given priority and equipped to the utmost extent possible. This policy had alreadv been

adopted and almost 60 per cent. of the total battalions in the Home Guard had been given priority ln the manner suggested. The remainder have been issued with their training requirements of equipment, at least, and in many cases considerably more. EQUIPMENT. There was admittedly a shortage of equipment in the early stages of the formation of the Home Guard. Since then, however, the arrival of very large shipments from overseas augmented in the case of some items by local production, has enabled a considerable improvement to be effected. Issues of equipment will continue as supplies become available. The supply of .303 ammunition is now very satisfactory, but the issue of .300 American rifles to Home Guards units and a present shortage in that ammunition have necessitated restrictions in training issues. This position is met, however, by provision for men with .30 rifles to fire the remainder of their courses with .303 rifles and ammunition. Shipments to arrive will rectify the position with respect to .30 ammunition. Increased production of cloth and the retention of uniforms which New i Zealand had agreed to supply ov'er- , seas, as part of the Empire Supply ! Organisation, has enabled an increased issue of uniforms to be made to the Home Guard. Large quantities are still required to provide a second uniform for the troops permanently mobilised as well as to complete the Home Guard, and production has bsen speeded up to the maximum. To date 75,000 uniforms (39,000 service dress and 36,000 battle dress) have been issued to the Guard. An issue of 3000 a week will be made to the Guard till a second suit of battle-dress has been supplied to all members of the mobilised forces.

Since the report was compiled, the issue of boots to the Home Guard has increased from 59,000 pairs to 83,000 pairs. Stocks of grenades have now increased and they have been issued to complete the training scales and war reserve of the Guard. PERSONNEL. The committee commented on the shortage of personnel in many units, and supported the decision which had been made to appoint committees to deal with transfers between Home Guard and E.P.S. organisation. These committees appear to have done good work, and the distribution of manpower between the two organisations is now being dealt with in an efficient manner. Reference was made to the necessity for officers commanding Home Guard battalions having power to deal with non-attendance at parades and breaches of discipline. These officers have in fact the same powers as other army officers, and no further powers are necessary.

PAYMENTS. The report recommends payment of attendance at parades, but states there is a divergence of opiniin on this question. The position is that whenever guardsmen are called out for a period of 24 hours or more they are paid at the rate of 7s a day and rations and transport are provided. If the period of mobilisation is for seven days or ionger, or whenever guardsmen are required to attend a course of instruction, the same rates of pay and allowances as are provided for home defence forces are paid to guardsmen. The committee reports that there were strong requests that out-of-pocket expenses should be refunded to the men. Many of these expenses have been incurred in travelling long distances to attend parades, involv- j ing purchases of petrol. Petrol re- j strictions and shortage of tyres now largely govern this matter. Tb meet the position, it is intended to make arrangements under which parades of smaller units be held and so reduce travelling. Men outside prescribed limits will carry out consolidated training as was done in the case of the Territorial Force. | A recommendation has been madb that the capitation allowance of £1 per annunr be paid on an annual basis, and that it ,be increased to £2 j

per annum. It has been decided to pay the annual basis, progress payments being made quarterly, with adjustments in the final quarters. Proyision has been made whereby if an increase in the amount of the allowance is required, then it will be authorised. DISTRICT AND GROUP DIRECTORS. The committee recommended that the duties of districts and group directors should be more clearly defined. The position of these officers has been very carefully considered by the Government and the Army authorities. When the guard was first formed most valuable duties were discharged gratuitously by group and district directors, for which no words of thanks are too high. These duties are, however, mainly of an administrative and organising nature, and the time has now come to concentrate on training and operationai planning. It has been decided, therefore, that these appointments will no Ionger be continued. Instead, inside each Army area a number of zone commanders, with a training and operationai staff, will be appointed. These zone officers will command Territorial and Home Guard units within their zones. Any possibility of divided control will thus be avoided, and, indeed, there will be in consequence a closer fusion of the Home Guard and the Territorial Army, which is not only desirable but essential. The majority of the zone commanders will be appointed in a full -time capacity, the remainder on a part-time basis in the meantime, but the position of these will be reviewed at a later date. Transport cannot be made available to assemble units and sub-units from widely-separated localities, for training purposes. Parades by smaller units and the consolidated training of men living at a distance will greatly ease the position. v