Left Army “Because Of Labouring Work”

Press, Volume C, Issue 29524, 27 May 1961, Page 17

Left Army “Because Of Labouring Work”

A soldier charged at a court-martial at Burnham yesterday with deserting in January last year said in evidence that he had absented himself without leave because his company had been called on to do labouring work on a new barracks block, including scraping roofs, picking up sticks, and pouring concrete. He was doing labouring and not soldiering, for which he had joined the Army, he said. The accused, Graham William Frank Beamsley, a private in the Ist Battalion, New Zealand Regiment, pleaded not guilty to the desertion charge. He was acquitted of this, but on a substituted charge of absenting himself without leave for 73 days between January 29 and April 12, 1960, he was sentenced to 120 days' detention. The court comprised Major R. de la Cour (president), and Captains D. G. Rodda and G. W. Weeds. The Judge-advo-cate was Major G. C. C. Sandston. "Captain W. J. D. Meldrum prosecuted, and Lieutenant A. L. Gadsby was defending officer.

Evidence was given that after the accused left Burnham -he went to Wellington, where he was arrested for being an accessory with other young men to a car conversion. He was sentenced to Borstal training in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court in April, 1960, for the offence. Sergeant K. D. Joines, called by the prosecution, said he was duty officer about the time of the alleged offence. At 7 a.m. on January 29 he checked Beamsley's room and found him missing. After searching the camp he reported his absence. Cross-examined, Sergeant Joines said Beamsley did not ask for permission to leave the camp.

Beamsley, in evidence, said he joined the Army as he wished to go to Malaya, and also wanted a home and security. After his company was posted from Waiouru to new headquarters at Bumham it was engaged on labouring work for an engineers’ unit for the construction of a new barracks block, he said. "This job included pouring concrete for foundations, picking up sticks, scraping roofs, and other labouring tasks. I did not like the work, as I joined the Army to do soldiering.” Beamsley said he went to Nelson, where he eventually got a free passage to Wellington on a coastal vessel. In Wellington he met some young persons who offered him a lift in a car which had been converted. They were apprehended by police and Beamsley was later sentenced to Borstal for this and other offences. ( Beamsley said he intended going to Wanganui to dis-

cuss his army job with his parents. He intended returning to Burnham after he had seen them, and had no intention of deserting. “I realise now I did the wrong thing by going absent without leave. I have had a lot ot time to think about what I would like to do since I have been in prison, and 1 think the Army can offer me a lot more as a soldier than anything else I can think of,” Beamsley said.

A sergeant and a corporal in Beamsley’s company were also called to give defence evidence. They said the

morale of the soldiers was “rock-bottom low” because of the labouring work they were asked to do, and there was much absenteeism and applications for transfers and discharge.