SPLENDID ATTENDANCE

Taranaki Daily News, 14 September 1940, Page 6

SPLENDID ATTENDANCE

NATIONAL RESERVISTS ENTHUSIASM FOR DUTY FINE SPIRIT DISPLAYED A splendid spirit of duty and enthusiasm for th'e work that they are carrying out is being displayed by the members of the New Plymouth company of the National Military Reserve Class II. These men are all veterans of the 1914-18 conflict and since being placed on a proper footing about three months ago have allowed nothing to interfere with their training. Lieutenant W. Hayward, N.Z.T.S., officer commanding the company, allowed a Daily News representative to glance over the rolls yesterday afternoon and these records were a revelation. Well over 75 per cent. of the men have not missed a parade and as Lieutenant Hayward pointed out two> of these were fullday parades. Irregularity Spoils Work., Their previous experience of soldiering has apparently taught them that it is the irregular attender that retards the progress of the training and they seem to desire to make certain that there is as little retarding in this way as possible.

An example of the splendid attendance could be seen from the record of 'one of the platoons. In the roll book 13 parades had been marked for 34 men. The possible would have been 442 attendances for the 34 men. Actually the total was 421 and in this was one man whose work had taken him out of the district for nine parades. Taking these out of the calculations the total attendance was 421 out of a ppssibie 433, an average of 97.9 per cent. Enthusiasm of Officers. As further evidence of the general enthusiasm the officers and non-commis-sioned officers are voluntarily undergoing a four days' course of intensive training in order to increase their own and then the efficiency of the company. This course starts at 9 o'clock on the New Plymouth racecourse and will continue all to-day and to-morrow. It will resume next Saturday morning and conclude tlie following day. During this course small arm training, Lewis machine-gun work and fieldcraft will be carried out. The instructors will be Lieutenant Hayward and R.S.M. (W.O. II.) E. E. McCurdy, N.Z.T.S.