New Zealand

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 24, 22 December 1916, Page 5

New Zealand

1 b I ‘ INVITATION TO RE~ENI IST. i For Press Association. Auckland, December 20. An important statement dealing with the recruiting of men for the Expeditionary Force reinforcements was made to-day by the Minister for Defence. It refers particularly to men who have already enlisted for service, but have been rejected owing to medical unfitness. “The Defence Department would bo glad,” said the Minister, “if men in the first division who have in the past volunteered for the Expeditionary Force and have been passed as medically unfit, would volunteer for service again. All who so volunteer will have to attest, and they will be examined by the Medical Board, and, if passed by this Board as medically unfit, their names will not be included in the ballot, but will be placed upon the reserve list. Some of these men will be invited to volunteer for home service in training camps. If they could satisfactorily take up work which is now being done by some of the staff in the camps they might thus let them away for service. Those who are passed by the Medicai Board as fit for service would be-in-vited to join one or other of the next , two reinforcements. It has been found necessary to adopt this practice in order to relieve the First Division reserve of a considerable number of names of those who are medically unfit, and who have previously volunteered. It has also become specially necessary because of the facts that in some districts the volunteer principle lias prevailed entirely, and in others varying numbers have had to he balloted for where ballots'have had to be imposed. In a word, the practice is adopted in order, ■to some extent at any rate, to clear the- rools and to avoid unnecessary .trouble in regard to the ballot. This invitation to men who have already enlisted, but nave not been accepted on account of medical unfitness, is offered to the No. 1 group first,” added Mr Alien. “Jbe idea is to extend the principle as the Department is in a position to do so. I hope that all recruiting committees and patriotic societies in No. 1 group will assist to the best of their ability in inducing these men to come forwaid and enlist at once.”