"F.I.A. NOT A.I.F."

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 103, 3 May 1941, Page 6

"F.I.A. NOT A.1.F."

SOLDIERS PROTEST.

DESIRE TO GO OVERSEAS.

SYDNEY, April 29.

About 100 soldiers of an antiaircraft unit demonstrated at the rccruiting hut in Martin Place on Saturday by way of protest against having been kept in camp in Australia for 13 months and to show their desire to go overseas. They tried to re-enlist in the infantry, but of course were not accepted, and after having been addressed by a padre, sent a deputation to a Federal member, Mr. Ward, who happened to be in the Federal offices nearbv. He promised to place their case before the Army Minister, Mr. Spender. The men put it that instead of being members of the A.I.F. they were really the F.I A.—"forever in Australia." It was stated later that when thev returned to camp at Ingleburn all their night and week-end leave was cancelled.

Men who enlisted as stewards in the RA.A.F. have also complained this week that they are kept in Australia to dance attendance on officers and social parties whereas when thev enlisted, they claim, they were told that they would very soon be able to transfer to other-branches of the service and go abroad.

Another complaint was made this week by another batch of wounded soldiers who returned from the Middle East and England. They alleged that oranges which had been

put on the ship for them by the Red Cross had later been sold to them through the ship's canteen. They also said that the same thing had happened to apples which the Red Cross supplied at their first Australian port of call.

A Queensland soldier from a tank regiment said that much of the equipment used by the A.I.F. in Libya had been captured from the Italians. "Lack of equipment considerably handicapped us," he said. A Bondi soldier said that Australian troops who left Alexandria to go to the Balkans thought that they were going for a holiday in Greece after the Libyan campaign. The wounded soldiers, like the previous batch about a week ago, were driven in procession through the city after a long wait. Some of them said that j wounded men returning to Australia would much prefer to get home as soon as possible to their relatives and have a rest.