DEMOBILISATION DELAY

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 September 1945, Page 8

DEMOBILISATION DELAY

PROTEST AT WHENUAPAI AUCKLAND, September 17. • Approximately 150 members of the Maintenance Wing of the personnel at Whenuapai Air Station organised a stop-work meeting in one •of the hangars this morning. The meeting was a protest, against delays in demobilisation. ‘The men were met by the Station Commander, Group Captain Hunter; the Officer of the Maintenance Wing, Squadron Leader J. R. Torry; and the Adjutant of the Wing, Flight-Lieutenant Petrie. . , • After the men had voiced their grievances, through a spokesman, an explanation of difficulties that c° n ~ ■fronted the authorities was given, and it was arranged that the spokesman should furnish full details of any alleged anomalies to the Commanding Officer, so that matters might be taken up directly .with the Air DeWellington. As a result of the meeting, Group Captain Hunter intends to send Squadron. Leader Torry and Flight-Lieutenant Petrie to Wellington in an endeavour to expedite the release of certain of the personnel. ~ , , - in The meeting was held between 10 a.m. and 11.15 a.m., at a time when the men normally would have been carrying out a routine inspection of aircraft. The organisers made a request, through a Warrant Officer, that they be permitted to meet Squadron Leader Torry, and he attended the meeting, accompanied by his Adjutant, and the Officer Commanding the station. The men were permitted to voice their grievances in full, and at no time did the proceedings become acrimonious. The spokesmen expressed concern at the delays in the demobilisation of personnel at Whenuapai, as compared with the demobilisation at the other Air Force stations. They pointed put that men with long periods of service to their credit were being retained at Whenuapai, while men who had served considerably shorter terms at other stations were already back in civilian life. A complaint was also made that the station was at present over-staff-ed.

OFFICERS’ EXPLANATION. The officers explained to the men that the station was at present temporarily over strength by about 67 men, because personnel had recently been transferred to there from other c imps, which had been closed. There had been a considerable influx from Swanson camp, but these men were being demobilised just as speedily as they Could be passed through the regular channels. The rate of disc harge was limited., however, by the pressure of work oh the medical and dental staffs. It was also explained Ihat Whenuapai had extra commitin ents to handle. Since the end of host’iities with Japan extra transport flights were being flown to bring back personnel who had been serving in t ie islands, and prisoners of war who had been liberated. The transport squadrons had to be kept in first-class mechanical order, and, for this reason, the skilled personnel must be retained at Whenuapai until they could be replaced. Disapproval of the men’s action in calling an unauthorised meeting was expressed by Group Captain Hunter v. hen speaking later in the day. He v as at all times ready to receive a deputation of spokesmen from the men if they had any complaints or submissions to make, he said, and he would refuse to tolerate any further exhibition of this type of behaviour. I; was recognised that certain of the men would feel aggrieved when they saw friends who had joined the service utter them being discharged first

from other stations. It was their misfortune to have been trained as specialists, and to be stationed at Whenuapaibase for the transport squadrons at the time when the activities there were being stepped up. Every available aircraft was being flown these days, and men were frequently called upon to work at week-ends, although this time was later made up to them during the week. MINISTER’S REVIEW WELLINGTON, Sept. 17. ’ With a total of 7327 releases since V.J. Day (August 15th) up to last Saturday (September 15) the rate of demobilisation in the R.N.Z.A.F. has equalled the maximum capacity of the medical and dental units to handle the examinations, and of the transport facilities to take the men to their homes, stated the Minister of Deienco, Mr. Jones. He said that the civilian and service doctors and dentists and hospital authorities were working at top pressure, and many medical boards worked long into the night and through the week-end.

“From August 1 to September 15 a total of 8427 members of R.N.Z.A.F. have been demobilised,” he said. “In the first week after V.J. Day 1209 releases were put through. There were 2887 releases handled in the second week, while there were 197,3 releases in the third week, and last week tiie figure was 1258. Between August 1 and September 12 some 1500 men in the R.N.Z.A.F. ground trades were brought back from the Pacific and another 3500 are awaiting repatriation. These will be brought .back by sea and air transport' within the next month. Since the encl of hostilities in Europe in May, a total of 628 New Zealand airmen have returned to the Dominion from the United Kingdom, Canada and U.S.A. It is expected that a further 1500 men will leave the United Kingdom during September, and that another 1500 will leave during October as transport is available. In all of the releases to date, the airmen have left their stations within •18 hours of being medically and dentally cleared, but the average time is 24 hours if transport is available. At Nelson, where releases to the North Island could not all be sent on the ferry steamer, air transport has been used to get men away promptly. The steamship companies and Railways Department have given the utmost co-operation in allotting extra berths or in authorising special trains at short notice. The R.N.Z.A.F. put its large-scale demobilisation plan into operation on August 11. when it became clear that there was a strong possibility of Japan’s capitulation. The plan had been in preparation for some months and it was possible to call selected personnel from their normal posts ,to their demobilisation duties without delay. Special demobilisation staffs arrived at all New Zealand stations, and in many cases on the same day as the new policy for each unit was announced. As a result, full-scale demobilisation began : simultaneously at Swanson, Taieri, Wigram, Harewood, New Plymouth, Ohakea and Remuera, and it was in progress throughout the remainder of the working week in which V.J. Day fell. Further policy decisions enabled the work to begin early in the following week at Hamilton, Ardmore and IJobsonville. The remaining stations, without exception, are actively engaged in storing equipment or in the transportation of men back from the Pacific.”