THE BRITISH ARMY

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 366, 22 February 1937, Page 8

THE BRITISH ARMY

. GENERALS WORRIED 144,000 MEN WANTED. URGE GIRLS TO LET BOYS JOIN. LONDON, Nov. 7, Generals talked over the failure of recruiting at the War Office this week. An appeal was made to th© public for a change of attitude towards the Army, aif appeal especially directed to young women friends of prospective recruits- The keynote of the speech of Lieut.-General Sir Harry H. S. Knox, AdjutantGeneral of the Forces,. was that if the voluntary system of recruiting is to be maintained and conscription Avoided, the public must encourage recruiting. “It is an honourable career, and the British soldier is one of the most lovable fellows in the world. Families should be proud to have one of their sons in the British Army,” he said. Wanted this year (to April 1. 19 37) to bring the Army up to establishment, are 37,000 regulars, 86,000 territorials, and 21,000 for the supplementary reserve. Lieut.-General Knox has three reasons for the failure of recruiting:—A change of social conditions; improvement of trade; low physical standard of the population. “First two are heartening,” added the general, “the third is not.”