RELEASED CAPTIVES

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 April 1945, Page 3

RELEASED CAPTIVES

ADVICE TO NEXT-OF-KIN WELLINGTON, April 26. The procedure followed with a view to overcoming some of the difficulties experienced in announcing the release of prisoners of war was outlined by the Acting-Prime Minister (Mr. Nash). The New Zealand High Commissioner in the United Kingdom (Mr. Jordan) had reported that the trouble was largely through releases occurring during military operations, when forces were so fully engaged on urgent military matters, and so constantly on the move, that some delay in furnishing to Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force details of the liberated men was often unavoidable. The best prospect of improvement, said Mr. Jordan, was probably by a reduction in the time lag between the receipt of information by Supreme Headquarters and its arrival at the War Office. This matter was being investigated, but vrar correspondents, who often made contact with prisoners immediately on their release, and had no military- operational duties to attend to, and who, moreover, could telegraph particulars direct, were bound to have an advantage in speed over official information passing through a number _ of hands before reaching the War Office. Cablegrams handed in by liberated men at telegraph offices in France or in the United Kingdom immediately after arrival there obviously possessed similar advantages in regard to speed. Parties liberated usually consisted of men of various forces and particulars of all men were included in lists received at the War Office, which had to be analysed to enable separate lists to be made in respect of United Kingdom and various Dominion personnel. Information reaching N.Z.E.F. Headquarters in London was invariably cabled to Base Records, Wellington, on the same day. Indeed such cables were forwarded several times daily. Mr. Jordan stated that in almost every case information of the arrival in the United Kingdom had been received before the War Office advice of liberation. “Men flown from Europe are being landed al airfields in all parts of the United Kingdom,” added Mr. Jordan. “From airfields they are transferred almost immediately to the nearest available hospital for medical examination and then, if fit enough, to the N.Z.E.F. reception group. New Zealand officers have been sent'to the princioal landing grounds to meet New Zealand men on arrival of aeroplanes, supply them with all necessary information, and telephone, or telegraph particulars of their arrival to the N.Z.E.F. Reception Group, where cablegrams are prepared and sent to New Zealand Military Headuarqters here by motor dispatch service and transmitted at once.” Mr. Jordan said further representations were being made to the War Office urging a speed-up in the existing machinery, file was hopeful that any improvement which the War Office and Supreme Headquarters might find it possible to make would reduce delay in the receipt in the United Kingdom of official information sufficiently to- offset the advantage in speed in the case of cablegrams dispatched by war correspondents or handed in personally by the liberated men.