TERRITORIAL TRAINING.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 November 1922, Page 5

TERRITORIAL TRAINING.

INSPECTION BY COL. MELVILL WORK OF COMMUNITY CLUB. A Company of the 4th Battalion, Wellington Regiment (New Plymouth) was inspected la«t night by Colonel-Com-mandant C. W. Melvill, D. 5.0., N.Z.S.C., officer commanding the Central Command, who waA accompanied by Captain D. Bremner, M.C., N.Z.S.C., staff officer in charge of the regimental district. There was a total of 5 officers and 126 other ranks on parade, and. their turn out was such as to call for special praise by Colonel Melvill after the parade. The company wee drawn up for inspection in ciose column of platoons with fixed bayonets, and, the inspection over, the platoons inarched off to their various circuits to carry out training in Lewis gun, bayonet fighting, musketry, and physical training. Before the parade terminated the company marched past in the hall to the strains of the band of the New Plymouth Caledonian Society, who voluntarily lent their services for the occasion. There was a little preliminary unsteadiness in settling* down to the inarching, .probably due to unfamiliarity with pipe music. Before the parade was dismissed, Colonel Melvill complimented the company on its turn out, especially mentioning the fitting of the equipment,. There was only one company which could approach them, the Wanganui company. The time he had at his disposal was very short, but what he hid seen of their work was satisfactory, and he was pleased to notice the enthusiasm the men showed in their work. He hoped that they would all make an endeavor to attend the five days* continuous courses of instruction that' were being held in New Plymouth. The training they would receive would be more interesting than could be given at evening parades,' and they could also receive instruction in the field work they would have to undertake should they over .go on service. Alternative courses had been arranged to meet the convenienc-e of employers who liad two or more territorial working for them, so that if they could not let them all off at once they might he able to let oho go at a time. Employers elsewhere had fallen in with the scheme, and he was sure that the New Plymouth employers, who had a name for patriotism and liberality, would let their, men go if this were pointed out Io them. The courses, which had been held at Wellington, Palmerston North, Wanganui and elsewhere, had been a great success. Colonel Melvill paid a tribute to the work of the Community Club, which, he said, had been of great service to the Defence Department and to the territorials and senior eadets, and he asked the club to accept, through him, the deep thanks of his department for the services which they had rendered. In closing he referred to the necessity of some form of military training, and showed how it had been a material factor in settling the recent Near Eastern crisis. At that time it wa* just touch and go whether the Empire would be at war, and he was fairly convinced that had it not been for tho reinforcements which Great Britain had sent to Gallipoli, and the response that Lad been made from all the Dominions, of which' New Zealand was the first, tho Turke would not have caved in. The first to go from New Zealand would have been officers of the permanent forces hnd officers and N.C.O.’s or the ExpeditionaryForce, with privates drawn from, the territorials and those who had just gone to the npserve. The training they had received during the time they were cadets and territorials would have enabled the Dominion to send them away within three weeks of mobilisation. Had they not had any training, four months would necessarily have elapsed before embarkation, could have taken place. Further, they would not have had the staff to enrol the men and mobilise and equip them. No one wanted war, but he appealed to the territorials to put their hearts into their work, so that, if the time did unfortunately come and their services were required, they would be trained and ready to take their places. At the conclusion of the parade, the officers and men were entertained by the Community Club, while the pipe band rendered a number of selectionfl, a drum solo by the drum major arid drummers being enthusiastically received.