OVERSEAS SERVICE

Grey River Argus, 19 July 1941, Page 8

OVERSEAS SERVICE

I APPEAL BOARD Coast Sittings Conclude The Armed Forces Appeal Board concluded its West Coast sittings at Greymouth yesterday, when a num; ber' of appeals were disposed tn. There was no appearance in several appeals and the cases were struck out. Mr F. F. Reid, S.M., presided, and with him were Messrs A. H McLane and G. M. Hall. Mr W. F. Tracy represented the Crown. The Dispatch Foundry Co. Ltd., appealed for Ernest Greenhill Gilmour on the grounds of public interest. William Percy Hambleton, manager of the foundry, said reservist had been employed there for eight years. He was principally engaged in mining and sawmilling work. The company did major repairs for these industries. The normal complement ol titters was six and there were now only three. The chairman said the supply ol skilled tradesmen in the industry was known to the Board and the appeal would be adjourned sine die. APPEALS DISMISSED. Eadie Bros (Mr E. B. E. Taylor) appealed on the grounds of public interest for Wilfred Hugh McCorkindale, lorry driver. J. M. Eadie said that he had received eleven replies to an advertisement for a man to replace reservist, none of whom could do the job as efficiently as reservist. It took some time to train a substitute. Mr Taylor apniied for the adoption of the appeal by Westland Transport Ltd., leave being granted. | In reply to Mr Tracy, Eadie said that two men now overseas had done the work. Reservist was storeman at Grey Motors before starting work with the Compam- It took him about) six months for reservist to pick the work up. He had not seen any of the eleven men who replied to the advertisement. He knew two of them. Mr Taylor handed the replies to the Board. To Mr Reid: Everything should be now efficient in war time. Eadie's had four permanent employees and Fahev’s fourteen at the time of the merger. There were now 17. Delivering the Board’s decision, Mr Reid said that the evidence disclosed that reservist was doing the work formerly done by two men. Lt also showed that eleven replies hadi been received to an advertisement bv I Eadie’s, some of the replies received warranting inquiries bv an earnest I employer. The Company took no steps to do so. The Board was prepared to assist em^io v ers but was not satisfied in this case. The appeal would be dismissed. Thomas R. Smithers annealed on the grounds of undue hardship for his son, Arthur Langdon Smithers, railway surfaceman. Appellant in evidence said his son assisted with the milking before and after work, doing about 25 hours a week apart from working on the railway. His son was 27. He went to the Territorial camp last year. Then his wife, p~ed 62, had to assist with the milking.

There were 260 acres of freeho land 160 acres of leasehold. He e: Dected to milk 25 cows this year ar had 30 head of dry stock, 15 pigs, It colonies of bees. To Mr Reid: His other son. aged 2 worked on the farm. He had bef called up for overseas. He (appellan worked all the time he could, but f did not enioy good health. Reservi milked half’ a dozen cows mornir and night. To Mr Tracy: He had two daugh ers. one being at home. The appeal was dismissed. REHEARING OF APPEAL. The re-hearing of an appeal di: missed at Hokitika on April 1, i which G. P. Rea, butcher of Ross, aj pealed for James Gerald Rea, butcl er and farmer, was granted. Mr I 13. E. Taylor ’appeared for appellan Appellant in evidence tendered statement with income returns fc the past four years, and a statemer by the residents. His son had want ed to enlist but he had persuade him to stay. To Mr Reid: His son was on th farm while the business was leased. Evidence was given by reservis who said he was aged 22 years. Mr A. R. Elcock, solicitor, Hok tika. in evidence, said he had prepai ed the income tax returns since 1931 It wns impossible to separate th farm from the business and th figures were for the combination They had put a tremendous amoun of work into the property. The Board has decided that tn reservist shall stay where he is a present, because he . is renderin; some public service said Mr Reid The appeal was adjourned sine m on the grounds of public interest. James Patterson Doig, farmer, To tara Flat, appealed on the ground of public interest and undue hard ship. Reservist said he had 322 acre: and carried 420 sheep, together witi fat stock and 64 head of fat cattle He had about 30 acres sown last year He had no one to assist him and hi; mother and sister lived with him His tw'o brothers were in Evypt. On: left the farm to go. He was replaced by a boy who left. Reservist ant his brother purchased the property in 1938. He had also 990 acres al Blackwater where there were aboul 45 dairy cows, 45 dry stock and 14C ewes. He had a share-milker lookin a after the property. The appeal was adjourned sine die on the grounds of public interest. Mrs H. Crase (Mr E. B. E. Taylor) annealed on the grounds of undue hardship. for Ronald Demetrius Crase. Reservist presented a written statement with a doctor’s certificate as Io his mother’s health. The Board was very sparing in granting appeals on the grounds of undue hardship only, said the chairman. The circumstances in the case, however, were such that they thought an adjournment should be granted. The appeal would be adjourned sine die, to be reviewed in January next. Rugg and Co. Ltd. (Mr W. D. Taylor) appealed for Leslie George Vernon Harcourt, lorry driver. Hu"h Morgan, manager of the company, gave evidence that reservist did running- repairs and was difficult to replace. He spent one and a-half to two days’ a week on mechanical work.

The appeal was dismissed. Loftus Pau; Ronchi (Mr J. W. Hannan), butcher, Waiuta, annealed on the grounds of public interest. Appellant said that he sunnlied Waiuta, which had a population of 600. To Mr Tracy: He had not thought of the Armv when he started the business. His brother was 21, and had not been called up. To Mr McKane: McElwee and McVicar delivered three days a week at Waiuta. Witness had more than half of the trade in the town. To Mr Hall: They had tried to sell the business since he was called up, but had not been successful. James McGregor. Secretary Inan-| gahua Miners’ Union, in evidence.' said his Union had first approached Ronchi to commence a butchery busi-l ness. Edward B. E. Taylor, gave evid-' ence that he had advertised for a butcher. There were two replies, one a lad of 20. liable for military service, and another from a married man from Christchurch who wanted accommodation. The Placement Officer had been unable to find anyone. suitable. I The chairman said the Board was not unmindful of the difficulties which the people of Waiuta might have to face, but at the same time

conditions were such that the people.' might be caused further inconveni-{ ence. The Board was satisfied that I one, if not both brothers would have I {to do military service. To Mve them ■ an opportunity to make arrangements, the appeal would be aajourn-1 ed to the next sitting in about three;! months’ time. . i CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS. Douglas Lester Smith of Ahaura, ! winch driver, appealed on the grounds, of conscientious objection against■ d Territorial service. I lt Appellant said he was aped id I 1“ years, and had belonged to the I L : Christian Church as long as he re- I “ membered. His parents had belonged | d to it for 18 years. The meetings were I y held at appellant’s own home. <| To Mr Reid: He would be willing • to serve in any capacity as a civilian as long as it did not conflict with his '■ views. Christ had never said anyr thing about succouring soldiers under! military control. I 7 Mr Reid: If you were in Greymouth 1 and it was shelled, with women and children injured, would you be prepared to assist them ?—Yes, in a civilian capacity. In the Territorial [ Forces you are under the military 9 and would be aiding the war. The ’ motive that would move me would be I , a motive of Christ. There was no dif- | ' ference in the act, but. in the control, g i Mr Tracy: Where did you get your | ' authority from that Bible ? I can’t ffi get the place in Matthew, as I don’t | try to memorise any piece. There is q , oiie part which says: “Render unto H Caesar the things that are Caesar’s 1 and unto God the things that are H , God’s.” ■■! To Mr Reid: The succour of wounds H ’ I would render to God. i i To Mr McKane: I prepared the ‘ statement myself. I To Mr Hall: He was on the Pub- ! lie Works doing river erosion wori< to enable farms to produce. He sup- ’ posed that the change over to cheese production was because butter was i procured nearer England. , Mr Hall: What would you do if , Greymouth came under martial law? -—I would stand out for what I thought was right even if it meant u going before the military tribunal. The appeal was dismissed, reserv- ; Ist to render non-combatant service I ■ only. APPEAL ALLOWED. ; George Colville Menpes Angus, I civil servant, appealed on the grounds i of conscientious objection He siad » he was aged 25 and a member and | office bearer of the Presbyterian p Church, which, as a whole was not opposed to militar - service, the mem-

bers having liberty of conscience. He first studied when he joined the ; Church as a communicant member. I about ten years ago, but it was not till the war started he began to think I seriously about military service. Then he had to ask himself where he stood individually. To Mr Tracy: He was in the E.P.S. and felt that in undertaking military service he would not be doing as Christ wished. He could not suggest that ultimately and finally he was right. Mr Tracy: That’s fair enough. To Mr McKane: If ordered to go to a place by the military, as a member of the St. John Ambulance, he thought he would go. The appeal was allowed. Douglas Ralph Edwards, plumber, of Christchurch, appealed against Territorial service on the grounds of conscientious objection. He said lie was aged 22 years and a communicant of the Church of England. He had held his views since he was 16 nr 17. He had studied the Christadelphian Creed with his brother who I was a member. ) To .Mr Tracy: His study of the Christadelphian Creed dealt’ entirely with war. He had told members of the family and close friends his views on war long before the war started. To Mr McKane: He was prepared to work in a hospital under military control. The appeal was dismissed, subject to reservist rendering non-combatant service. The chairman said the Board would recommend to the military authorities that reservist be placed in the medical corps. When the appeal of Albert Chris- | tian de Fresne was called, the | chairman said that the appeal was on the grounds of conscientious ob- | jection. A perusal of the file, however, showed that this was a mistake. The appellant had wished to withdraw the appeal on that ground, and I had asked for time. The appeal hav- j ing been withdrawn, the Board could I not grant an extension, but would re-> commend the Army Department not 1 , to call reservist up before Septemberi! Ist. Michael John O’Sullivan, gold, dredge hand, appealed on the grounds i of conscientious objection against 1 Territorial service,. There was no ' appearance and the appeal was dis missed. ! The appeal of Daniel Graham «- Anderson against Territorial Service ’■ on the grounds of conscientious ob- 1

' I jection was withdrawn. ii The appeal of Sam McAra (Mr B. E. Taylor), for Philip James Duffy. . shop assistant, on the grounds of . public interest, was withdrawn. ’ The appeal of Walter Vivian Green. contractor of Haast, on the grounds of public interest, was withdrawn. The appeal of Mrs M. A. O’Brien for Ernest James Lewis O’Brien was i dismissed, reservist not to be calle I iup before September Ist. The appeal 'of Ernest Francis 'Baldock, farmer, I was adjourned sine die. j i t Manpower Committee WESTPORT SITTING. | Brigadier-General W. Meldrum, , presided over a sitting of the Man- ! Power Committee at Westport on Thursday, when appeals against Territorial service were heard. Associated with him were Messrs P. J. McLean and A. Panther. Mr. C. F. Shapcott represented the Crown. An appeal by the Westport Fire Board; on behalf of William Gerard Phibbs, was upheld, and adjourned sine die. Superintendent J. Daily said that Phibbs held the position of DeputySuperintendent. He lived on the premises and was practically always on duty. fie had been a member of the Brigade for 12 years. Westport Coal Company appealed on behalf of the following employees of Den- : n'.’ston Mine:— William Richard

> Hawes, carpenter; John David Kerr, i miner; Thomas Edward Boyd, truck- . er: Thomas Glendinning, electrician; ; Arnold Openshaw, mine manager; Charles Patrick Walsh. Victor NorIman Ward, and James Madden, truckers. Adjournments sine die I were granted in all cases, subject to the reservists joining the Home 'Guard, with the exception of Openshaw and Ward, who are already I members of the E.P.S. J. W. Glendinning, mine manager, appeared for the Westport Coal Company. The .Westport Coal Company also appealled on behalf of the following employees of Millerton Mine. Sine die adjournments were granted subject i to reservists joining the Home .Guard: John Sheridan, Leslie Thomas Riddell, James Milligan, Alexand,er Sharpe, and James Bryson. O. J. i Davis, mine manager. Millerton, represented the company. An appeal by the same Company, on behalf of .Sydney S. Tweddle, carpenter’s asI sistent, was struck out. In this case it was stated that Tweddle wished to :do his training and that he could be spared for three months. Thomas J. Higgins, a blacksmith’s striker, employed by the Westport Coal Co., Denniston, appealed on grounds of undue hardship and public interest. Mrs. N. F. Higgins, mother of appellant, was a co-appellant on the undue hardship grounds, and the Westport Coal Co. a co-appellant on public interest grounds. Regarding the undue hardship, it was stated

■ Higgins was the eldest son of a fam- ' ily of seven, and the only one work- • ing. He was helping to maintain : the home, as well as a sister at col- ‘ lege. Mrs. Higgins was a widow ! and her son was helping to build a house for her. The appeal was adjourned sine die cn both grounds Ito reservist remaining with the . E.P.S. Appeals on the ground of ’ public interest by the' 1 Stockton Coal Co., Ltd., on behalf of ’ I. J. Tyler, John C. Greer, Richard Beveridge and J. Sneddon, truckers; , George Poynter, bins worker; Eric L. Wood, blacksmith’s striker, and , John A. Murray, apprentice fitter, were adjourned sine die subject to reservists joining the Home Guard. This company also appealed on bej half of Robert Wilson, a colliery clerk. The Granity Volunteer Fire . Brigade also appealed on behalf of . Wilson. Because cf the peculiarity ■ of colliery clerical work-, the Com- ■ pany maintained that it was justi- ■ fled in appealing for Wilson. The ilFire Brigade stated that the Brigade strength was short and likely to be ■ shorter still as time went on. Mr. ■ Shapcott said that in a case such as this, the reservist should be released for service. He thought that another man could soon be adapted to the clerical work. As far as the Brigade was concerned, he thought that as there were plenty of men in the district who would not have to undergo training, that some of these could be absorbed in the Brigade, thus releasing men who were available for military service. The committee withheld its decision in this case. Appeals on behalf of Martin T. Stack and Peter Gennon. miners. William J'. Fox and George Lingard, truckers, by the Charming Creek Coal Co., Ltd’., were adjourned sine die subject to reservists serving in the Home Guard. An appeal ' jby the Director of National Service on behalf of Cyril P. Heaphy, miner, J was postponed for review on October 11. It was decided to grant a re- ■ hearing of an appeal by William J. j Brett, seaman, which had previously! I been struck out because of no appearance of appellant. In this case it was stated that appellant had been at sea at the time of the hearing. An appeal by the Director of Na-i jtional Service on behalf of William I 'J. Dittman, a railway boilermaker. 1 was adjourned sine die subject to reservist serving in the E.P.S.