HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 49, 6 May 1942, Page 5

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

MARRIED MEN'S ARMY

N.Z.'S DEFENDERS JiN CAMP

Now tluit till the married men with minimum family responsibilities are in the Army it is to be expected that fathers of one, two, three (or even more) who are to be mobilised next will wonder what Army life is like.

To such reservists now on the brink of the abyss or whatever it is that leads to Papakura and other military camps—to these the Beacon is able to give some first-hand information. Even if married reservists have heard all this from other sources their "better halves" may be pleased to read that "all home comforts" are (more or less) provided in the camps of New Zealand in 1912. Letters from "Home" A jolly daily event in camps is the handing out of the day's letters and parcels. Nowadays the men in camps fall roughly into two classes —married men of round about 30 years and mothers' boys who have only recently become of military age. So a steady stream of letters from fond wives, mothers and girl friends finds its way to the camp pest offices. Could these folk at home witness (by television, of course) the expectant look on the faces of the men at mail time parades, or see the disappointment, evident on the faces of these whose names are not read out. Well they would write at greater length and more frequently—every day in fact.

Oil yes, and they Avould also post the local paper regularly. This is not a free advt for the Beacon. Every local paper in Xew Zealand is of great interest to the men from its district now stationed "Somewhere in New Zealand" and unable to come home as often as they would like to. In these busy days wives and mothers may not have time 1 to write long letters, but. the local' paper (wherever it is published) does save an expenditure of ink, envelopes, stamps and time. It also helps the men in camps to keep so well informed of local events that when he comes back on leave he will feel as if lie has not been away. For the Inner Man Anxious wives and fond mothers who may have had fears of "hubby" and/or "junior" losing weight or starving in the Army can cheer up. The meals in the camps lack little in the matter of variety, quality and quantity—that is, considering the difference between catering for men by the hundred and cooking for the inmates of a 5-roomed house.

At Papakura Cmp, for instance, there are four kitchens each cooking for 800 men —and making a good job of it too. The week's menu features fish cooked in batter for Friday mornings, porridge at every breakfast (cheers from Caledonians) half a gallon of milk for each ten men at every meal (some drink it by the mug ful). Breakfast dishes a ary from day to day between chops, stew, sausages and bacon Avith omelette (or scrambled eggs) . Potatoes and cabbage are the standard vegetables for hot dinner at 5 p.m. on ■week days and at noon on Saturday and Sunday. An apple a day is issued at lunch time, and sometimes also bananas, lettuce, celery and tomatoes. Machine-sliced bread, both white and broAvn is in generous supply Avith ample butter, cheese and jam.

Warm Woollies for Winter The Army would sooner have its soldiers perish through warmth than freeze with cold. So it provides p!ent.y of New Zealand woollen cloth ing. The battle-dress of khaki serge is a warmer outfit than the gent's suits at so many guineas (see advertising columns of this issue). It is "hot stuff" at noon day. but more popular at 0 a.m. and i-n evenings. Woollen "undies" provided by the Army for t lie coming winter are belter than most recruits could afford to buy in civil life. This information will perhaps be welcomed by wives of prospective soldiers wlio may have had visions of "hubby" freezing to death in his battle dress. There is no real restriction on how much personal underclothing men lake lo camps, and most of them wear their own and the Army's as occasion demands. At present soldiers have three blankets, but anyone suffering from cold could bring three more from home and stew them away in his kithag in the daytime. Papakura camp has plenty of facilities lor washing socks, underdo thing. towels, etc., and the coppers,

tubs and clothes lines are much in use on Saturday afternoons, when there is no drill. Pay Day Newsreel Soldiers, present and future, need not ask the question "What shall we do with the money we earn?" The Army pays its privates 7/- a day but insists that they allot 4/(5 e-r 5/- a day to their bank accounts or some dependant relative. This leaves the soldier '2/<> or '2/- a day to spend in riotous living, which restricts the decree of riotousness to small proportions. Married soldiers find that the money which their wives and children collect from the State is as much or more than they used to get as a result of hard toil outside the Army. Young soldiers are warned that they cannot allot any of their pay to "girl friends"—so it goes to "Mum" or into the Savings Bank.