BRITISH TROOPS

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 August 1946, Page 4

BRITISH TROOPS

NO FREE RAIL PASSES IN NEW ZEALAND INVESTIGATION ORDERED (P.A ) AUCKLAND, August 8. In contrast to the reception New Zealand troops have been given m Britain, where train travel and other facilities have been provided free of cost to enable them to see the country, is the treatment of members of the British Army who are enjoying an enforced stay in the Dominion, They are members of the staff from the troopship Chitral who have been temporarily replaced by New Zealanders while the second draft of relief troops for J Force is being shipped to Japan. The Englishmen were placed on shore in Wellington until the Chitral returns next month, and Army accommodation was provided for them at Fort Dorset.

A party decided to visit Auckland, believing that rail passes would be available, as has usually been the case in Empire countries where small numbers of visiting troops are on leave. The party actually arrived at the Wellington railway station before discovering that passes would not be forthcoming, and as few of the members were in a financial position to buy a return ticket to Auckland and still have enough money in hand to pay for accommodation’, all but two had to return to Fort Dorset. They are virtually marooned in Wellington, and appear likely to remain there until the return of the Chitral.

Aii immediate investigation into the report that British soldiers on the staff of the troopship Chitral are virtually marooned in Wellington is to be made at the direction of the Minister of Defence (Mr. Jones). According to the Auckland report these men have been replaced on the Chitral by New Zealanders, but Mr. Jones said last evening that he was not aware that the men from the Chitral had been put ashore to remain in New Zealand. He would have an investigation made to find why they were put off the ship, and the conditions under which they had to stay in New Zealand.