DEFENCE FORCES.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 160, 10 August 1916, Page 3

DEFENCE FORCES.

WELLINGTON DISTRICT STAFF

APPRECIATION OF SERVICES.

The following letter 'written by Colonel Tate has been published in a Special District Order.— District Headquarters, Palmerston North, May 15th, 191(3.

"On relinquishing command of the Wellington District, I desire to thank all members of the District Staff and all ranks of the Territorial units and the Senior, Cadets who have worked so hard andjm well since August, 1911, in carrying out the arduous duties which

the District has been called upon to

perform

••'The work of the District hap been enormously increased by the exigencies of war, and the Territorial Units and Senior Cadets have necessarily had much less staff assistance than in normal times; the result that has been achieved in carrying out the work of

■ho District, without a hitch from the outbreak of war to the present time is a performance that we can all look back to with pride.

"Wo have handled, up to the 30th April, 1916. 17,567 recruits for the Expeditionary Force, out of a total of about 45,000 found by the whole Dominion (exclusive of the Main Body), and very considerable numbers of returned sick and wounded have passed through our hands.

‘‘A new group record system embracing the records of all trainees, has been instituted, and in addition to this and other activities the training of the Territorial Forces and Senior Cadets has gone on steadily, and the administrative work of the District has never becu checked. All this has been done with a staff little greater than that employed before the war.

"Before the war the District Staff consisted of 3 British Array officers, IS New Zealand Staff Corps officers, and s(i N.Z. Permanent Staff SergeantsMajor—a total of 78. To-day there are no British Army officers on our District Staff, only 4 N.Z. Staff Corps officers, and 19 N.Z. Permanent Staff Ser-geants-Major, the remainder being 3 Sergeants-Major promoted to temporary commissions, 19 Territorial Force offi-

cers, and 43 temporary N.C.O. ’s., the whole staff being 88, an increase of only 10, of whom 6 are ScrgeantsMajor, whose duty is specifically in respect of the sick and wounded soldiers returned to New Zealand. “I am at a loss in finding words to express my apreciation of the conduct of the professional soldiers of the New Zealand Staff Corps and N.Z.P.S., men who have been denied the privilege of serving abroad because they could not be spared from New Zealand _ You were the backbone which made the rest possible, and I sincerely trust that you will reap your just reward. “To the Temporary Staff, drawn mostly from my comrades of the Territorial Force, I offer my congratulations. You have put your duty before your interest, have in many cases made great sacrifices for the common weal, and, forming as you do the hulk of the staff, have performed the bulk of the work. “In the absence of the hundreds of officers and N.C.O.’s found for the Expeditionary Force by the Wellington District, the training of the Territorial Force and Senior Cadets would have been imposible but for the spirit shown by the remaining officers of the units, the Reserve of Officers, and the Officers of the Unattached List (b), and, but for the fact that many officers have done double and treble duty to keep things going. “The Civil Staff, as well as the Military Staff, have contributed an invaluable sharp in keeping up the pressure, and have shown zeal and assiduity in the long hours they have worked.

“Altogether, I deem myself fortunate in having commanded such a District and such a staff, and while I thanjk von all very much, we know, you and I, that though we have done something, much remains to be clone, and I leave you with th e confident feeling that you are the men who will see it through.

E. AV. TATE, Colonel, Commanding Wellington District