SURPLUS WAR STORES

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 September 1927, Page 9

SURPLUS WAR STORES

SALES TOTAL £680,000,000. “At last our gigantic task is completed,” said Sir’Daniel Neyland, secretary of the Surplus Stores and Liquidation Department, who is retiringrfrom the Civil Service, recently. “Since we started selling off war stores in 1919 more than £680,000,000 worth has - been disposed of. We have sold everything left over after the war, from bandage pins to whole towns like Gretna and Queensborough. “Our stock was scattered all over Europe arid Asia. For instance, thousands of miles of railway lines in Belgium, France, Salonika, Egypt and Palestine had to be sold. Eight hundred r thousand’-barrels of pickled herrings went for £952,298. "The biggest deal was concluded in January of 1919 —the disposal of the giant ' lorry depot - at Slough for £7,000,000. We have often received cheques for £2,000,000 in settlement of accounts. Transport sold in England alone’amounted to £17,000,000. Aeroplanes were the most difficult things to sell'. Seven years ago I had ’49,000 people working under me; now there are only four. They will be kept on to. collect the £15,000,000 which is still ow.ed us by foreign and mandated, countries and municipalities in this country. “We have sold all but about £750,000 worth of the original stock. That which remains is made up mostly of factories arid housing estates. The disposal of this is to be handed over to' the War Office. Shells and other munition worth 5 million were broken up and the residual metal sold. Some of the ammunition such as poison-gas cartridges, was so dangerous that we decided to drop it into the sea. The cartridges were first sealed up in concrete crates.

“What happened to the money received? Most of it has been used up >in helping to pay war pensions and the War Department’s debts. : “The sales were first begun in January, 1919, by the Ministry of Pensions when Lord Inverforth was Minister. Later, the work was carried out by the Disposal and Liquida- : tionj COffiinffision, with Sir Howard Frank ’as chairman, and afterwards by the’ prbseiit departinent, with Sir Charles Barrie as head.”