The Royal Naval Reserve

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 39, 9 May 1927, Page 8

The Royal Naval Reserve

N.Z. Seamen in the Making

"And rolling with laughter, at varying speeds The New Navy sped to the Old Navy’s needs; TJ nblushinglv pointless, by units or lots, Came drifters and trawlers and whalers and yachts, And, heedless of Discipline Acts, I’ve been told, The New Nuvy cheerfully winked at the Old,” —REAR-ADMIRAL HOPWOOD. npHE part played by Britain’s "New Navy” of small craft during the war was brought home to us at the time by the numbers of New Zealanders who went overseas to become the terror of the U-boat in one or other of these “drifters and trawlers and whalers and yachts.” Should a war come in the southern hemisphere, New Zealand would find itself in serious difficulty so far as the training in the Gulf, defence of its extnsive coast-line is concerned, without special provision having previously been made to meet this contingency. Cruisers have their part to play in protecting the trade routes, they cannot be everywhere at once, and while they are patrolling on the east coast, for example, enemy minelayers could be sowing their deadly crop on the west. But with small craft, and the men to man them well-equipped and trained, stationed at various points along the coast, there would be a different tale to tell.

It was with this in mind, that the nucleus of the Royal Naval Reserve was founded in Auckland two years ago. The actual small craft are plentiful enough, it is the men that matter. At the present time there are nearly 180 lads in training in Auckland, so that in an emergency, crews for minesweepers, mine-layers, coastal patrol boats and gun crews for armed merchantmen could be provided at the shortest notice. Everyone of the officers responsible for this training served overseas during the war. All future promotions to commissioned rank, however, will be made “through the ranks,” so that a boy joining up as a seaman has an excellent opportunity of rising in the service, provided, of course, that he is not afraid of work.

Many youngsters object to compulsory military drill as being a dull round of “slop* arms,” “form fours” and “quick march.” This cannot be said of the R.N.R., which offers an almost endless variety of work. Rifle and field exercises do play a small part in the training, but only for disciplinary purposes. The young sailors are taught knotting and splicing, boat-pulling and sailing, seamanship, four-inch and Lewis gun work,

coastal navigation, rule of the road, something about the compass and lead line, steering a ship, signalling and the customs and traditions of the service to which they belong. On top of all that they have a good opportunity of seeing something of the world —for their training is nothing if not practical —in one or other of the light cruisers on the New Zealand station. Some of the R.N.R. trainees have been away on cruises among the Pacific Islands for as long as two months. Can it be wondered then that lads are keen to join. Unfortunately, numbers are limited at present to ISO in Auckland. The keenness of those already wearing the uniform of British seamen is shown by the fact that 90 per cent, of the new entries have been drawn from friends of boys in the Reserve.

It is hoped in time, that Royal Naval Reserve training will he started in the other three main centres. At present the Auckland division is the only one in New Zealand. Cost is, of course, a handicap, but as soon as the people of New Zealand realise the necessity for the provision of a force for coastal defence, this should in some measure be overcome.

With the one exception of the Royal Naval Reserve, the whole of the Dominion’s defence training is confined to military work. The helplessness of an army without the Navy was only too well demonstrated in the last war to need further comment. The Army is only useful for fighting overseas, or for resisting the enemy after he has landed on New Zealand soil.

It is quite evident that it is infinitely better to prevent him from landing at all. New Zealand’s first line of defence, no less than Great Britain’s, is undoubtedly on the sea. The addition of H.M.S. Wakakura to the New Zealand station has helped considerably in the R.N.R. training, as it enables parties of Reservists to make short trips to sea and learn their jobs in the right atmosphere, and under active service conditions. Last Saturday afternoon 20 of these lads boarded the Wakakura at Queen’s Wharf for a week’s gunnery and seamanship training in the Gulf. The sloop carries a four-inch gun for’ard on which the boys will be drilled and instructed in the art of naval gunnery. The Wakakura anchored at Kawau over the week-end and is now on the way to Great Barrier. A call at Kawau will be made on the return trip, which will end next Saturday morning, with the sloop’s return to Auckland. (A picture of the young sailors hoarding the Wakakura will be found on the back page of this issue.) c.w.v.