THE CALL TO ARMS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 March 1940, Page 7

THE CALL TO ARMS

OBSERVATIONS BY CHIEF OF STAFF. NEED OF REINFORCEMENTS. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON. This Day. It was necessary that the people should be welded together in the common cause, said the . Chief of the General Staff, Major-General J. E. Duigan, C. 8., D. 5.0., when commenting in an interview yesterday on his recent recruiting tour of the North Island. With the Deputy-Prime Minister, Mr Fraser. Major-General Duigan returned to Wellington on Sunday. So far as his part of the tour was concerned, said Major-General Duigan, he had endeavoured first to let the people know that there must be no dissentients from the support of the armed services, and secondly that the reinforcements must be available when required to go into camp for training. It would also be necessary to have some men in hand who could be called upon when required. Major-General Duigan expressed his appreciation of the splendid enthusiasm manifested by Returned Soldiers Associations and the excellent ■ musters of members of Class II of the National Reserve (returned soldiers) at each centre throughout the tour. A typical example, he said, was provided by one returned soldier-farmer who collected four other Diggers and travelled more than 10(1 miles to be present at a rally. He had also been glad to note the enthusiasm in till ranks of the territorial units which paraded before each rally. In some of the northern towns members of the Second Echelon of the Expeditionary Force had reached their homes on leave when the rallies were held, and he was glad to note that in Dargaville there were 122 of all ranks on leave and present at the meeting, in addition to six ratings of 11.M.5. Achilles and 200 returned soldiers.