WAR HISTORIES administration of 2 N.Z.E.F. OVERSEAS

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28524, 1 March 1958, Page 3

WAR HISTORIES administration of 2 N.Z.E.F. OVERSEAS

[Reviewed by L.R.H.j Problems of 2 N.ZJE.F. By MajorGeneral W. G. Stevens. War History Branch, Internal Affairs Department. 332 pp. “There is no glory in this volume, nothing to stir the blood,” writes Major-General W. G. Stevens in his introductory chapter to “Problems of 2 N.Z.E.F.,” the newest volume in the now long series of official War Histories, fbe general may be underestimating his own writing, and the achievements with which he deals. General Stevens, known by jepute, often by sight to many of New Zealanders, was Officer in Charge Administration for the 2nd N.Z.E.F. throughout almost all its career. In this volume he tells, frankly and with tittle held back, of the problems ,f a self-contained expeditionary force through whose, hands passed more than 93.000 men and women in the years from the forming jf the force in 1939 until it disjpded in 1946. * The problems were immense, ind made no easier because no iroper peace-time provision had ieen made for setting up a smooth ( rganisation which could hhndle jjem. The whole organisation had o be built up from scratch, in <r oreign country, and it had to

arn by trial and error. How lickly it learned, and more imirtant, what principles of humanr guided it, is the task of the 4ume to tell. From it all emerges a mental cture of a sometime harassed t always intelligent leadership administration, intensely loyal d even devoted to the fighting XC. (Lord Frey berg), surmount- ; one difficulty after another d at the end of six years disnding leaving the 2nd New aland Expeditionary Force with lame and reputation for looking er its troops which was *he vy of other Commonwealth foritions. Also from the volume ierges a picture of one very man, sympathetic and imnsely resourceful civil servant General Stevens—who was more m equal to the challenge of I r-time administration. ■he book will be of great value B|he Army, but it will also be Hfeat interest to any one time ■dier now a civilian, who reJmbers his service in the 2nd ■.E.F. as an unforgettable exfence. Mere are a few random impresKs of life within the 2nd k.E.F. taken from the book:— P /FURLOUGH DRAFT {ROUBLE ... It appeared that mere was a strong feeling in ■few Zealand that the men K the draft had done their bit Kd that their places should be Kken by younger and fresher Ken. . . .«It took some time both Kr the Government and the ExKditionary Force to admit that yurlough” was a misnomer and , j-at once men returned to New i aland on leave they were gone □m the Expeditionary Force ir good. The effect on the vision was not so great as ight have been expected for . ith few exceptions and those ■ r good reasons all the officers me back and a good part of 4 e n.c.o.’s also. f PUPATION DUTIES. While ■ rictly speaking ft had nothing do with 2nd N.Z.E.F., it must ■ : said that the firm decision H the New Zealand Govern■ent not to allow any troops K take part in occupation duties O Europe created a slight feelKg of shame in the force, at Kst among those who had dealjus with British headquarters. Hr it was clear that while we Flffe all packing up and gleewly going home, tens of thouJnds of British troops would , H Staying on for months and NKn years. WRA DUTY PAY. Probably it |Kuld have been better to give Hb allowance to no-one, beHise of the difficulty of deterining who was carrying out ceptional work of a technical ture and because no extra owance was given the poor Pantryman for taking the. ; eater risks that were his daily are. Probably we did not apple with this problem firmly ough; but there was no engagement from the New Zea(i id end. i It is a lamentable fact it few New Zealanders know iw to drink. . . Our New Zeaid conditions of drinking are from pleasant and consist in ■ f m'ain of drinking as much ■fr as possible between 5 and Ml without any chance of sitFig down and taking it quietly I Few New Zealanders underthe short drink—the small < |ss of sherry or pink gin or pnouth, drunk in a leisurely finer before a meal or as a of conversation. at a table and really only incidental to human com- . . In lands where may be offered a drink name of which ' conveys 1 jjng to him but is probably • form of absinthe, to start 1O V cons uming a large glass ■ J il. Our habits may be all o long as we are in New < I 1, but they are the worst fjfl * training for drinking in < ,3 iign land.

IN ITALY. We owe a debt to the hundreds of humble folk in Italy who in a simple way entertained our men and kept them from trouble. The New Zealander likes nothing better than being taken into a house. If he can help with the baby or the washing up he will be perfectly happy. SALUTING. Most New Zealanders are naturally polite and would be prepared to pay some compliment to an officer when addressing him; but they cannot see the point of saluting every officer they pass, especially in a large camp or large town when men and officers are passing one another every few seconds—and most officers would agree with them in their hearts. ... It is suggested that this is one of the points where a clear and reasonable solution should be found and counted as one of the customs of the New Zealand service. It is time we developed our own customs, for we have assuredly grown up as soldiers BOOKS. There were just not enough books [for the troops to read]. It would repay the trouble taken if at the beginning of a war someone went round buying every cheap edition of books he could lay his hands on. They would never be wasted. It is worth noting also that there was a tendency to go back to the great classical writers of the nineteenth century—Dickens, Jane Austen, Scott, Lytton, and the rest. VEHICLE MARKINGS. The sight of our four stars (as on the national New Zealand flag, and used on 2nd N.Z.E.F. vehicles) was often too much for American military police, who must have thought it represented nothing short of Commander-in-Chief, The World, from the look of petrified astonishment on their faces. PROBLEMS. We tried to settle our problems overseas and not refer thfem to New Zealand. Sometimes the New Zealand authorities were a- little, or more than a little, aghast at what we had done on our own authority; but on the whole they accepted our action without cavilling. Naturally our judgment improved as time went on. ... It is possible to obtain some cynical amusement from the serious way with which in 1940 we handled “problems” that by 1945 we would have considered trivialities. PUBLICITY. Headquarters never looked on its handling of publicity as one of its great successes. . . . Unfortunately we never had a satisfactory liaison with the Director of Publicity in New Zealand. . ~ . Unfortunately we had difficulty in finding a suitable officer for the appointment of public relations officer and most unfairly thrust it upon officers unskilled in publicity who struggled manfully with a task that might well have driven them to distraction. It was not until the middle of 1943 that the service settled down into a steady routine.