ARMED FORCES APPEAL BOARD

Grey River Argus, 19 November 1942, Page 3

ARMED FORCES APPEAL BOARD

Greymouth Sitting

Continued

Thirty-seven appeals were set down | for hearing when the No. 2 Armed Forces Appeal Board continued its ( sitting in Greymouth yesterday. Mr! W. Meldrum presided, and Mr A. 1 Panther and Mr P. J. McLean were-i with him. Th e Secretary was Mr G F. Shapcott. ( Oswald Henry Purvis (Mr W. IlTaylor) appealed on his own behait. He had a contract for an indefinite period clearing land for Associated Gold Dredges at Atarau. Mr C. Cotter, manager of Associated Gold Dredges, stated that at present the Atarau dredge was working with halt J of its normal staff, and before Pur- j vis commenced work it had been ; necessary for the workshops staff .to • do clearing work. There were seventy j acres to dear at Atarau. To Mr Shapcott, Mr Cotter stated that Pur--vis was a bolt from the blue, and the ( company had no equipment such as Purvis had. —Service postponed till December 31. George Barker, carpenter, appealed for by George Manning, a contractor , engaged on Mines Department cot-1 tages at Taylorville.—Appeal dismis- < «ed the obligation to serve to be post- | coned till the end of February. I

Three carpenters, Francis Lewis | Bell, appealed for by L. B. Daven- j port: Gordon Leslie Luff appealed for by W- T. Robin (Mr Taylor); and William Alfred Fairhall, appealed for , by Keating and McMillan (Mr Taylor). had their appeals adjourned for further discussion with the Building Committee. , , Frederick Higgins, butcher, appealed for by F. J. Higgins and Sons (Mr . Taylor).' Mr Higgins stated he was in bad health. He ran a piggery and a butcher’s 'business in Cobden.—Adjourned sine die. . Douglas Coburn, T>us driver, appealed for by S. A. Coburn (Mr Taylor). Mr Coburn said he was nor able to drive himself. His son had been in the business for thirteen , years—Adjourned sine die. j Patrick Blanchfield, baker appea--ed for by P. Blanchfield (Mr Taylor• ‘ Blanchfield was carrying on with a] reduced staff, and . had advertised ( with no result. In addition toi bread. f cake and small goods, he was a manu- » facturer of baking powder. The piesent .output of the bakery was 1800 loaves a week. His son and a boy did the baking.—Adjourned sine die Eric Charles Berry, farmer (Mi Tavlor), appealed on his own behalf. He’ had properties at Wataroa and Atarau. but stated h e w° ul d .-rone into the Army had he been Grado -One. The Primary Production Council, supporting the-appeal, stated that the Atarau property was efficiently farmed.— Adjourned sine die Thomas Malcolm Mclntyre, fishex* man, appealed for bv C. R. Milne (Mr Taylor). Milne had a fish shop and store and was a big supplier to shipping and hospitals. Mclntyie managed the store, and was kept busy practically full time even when bad weather affected the local supply oi fish.— Adjourned s.'.ne die. Vernon Howard Messenger, shipping clerk, appealed for by James P. Leitch (Mr Taylor). Mr Leitch stated that the firm was in charge of the shipping arrangements for fourteen mines and two mills —they handled practically all but the State coal. Messenger’s work might be at any 'ime between 8.30 a.m. and midnight, and it involved working among trucks during shunting. The job was a very complicated one, and it. would take several years to train another man for it.-r-Adjourned sine die. ' William Avison Evans, student (Mr Tavlor) appealed on his own behalf. Mr E. F. Evans stated that his son was 18 vears of age. He was willing , to train,' but wished to continue wnh his studies for a medical career. He hoped to obtain a higher leaving certificate this year. His. application for enrolment at the Medical School had been held over awaiting the consent of the Director of National Service. —Appeal dismissed, .appellant not to cerv? before November 30. John Roger Haglund, student (Mr A M. Jamieson,) appealing on his own behalf, was similarly dealt with. Allan John Burr, butcher’s assistant was appealed for by J. W. Burr (Mr Jamieson). Burr had a butchers delivery serving a very scattered area, part of it being fifteen miles away. His son spent six days a week on the round. They were the only sappliers of bread and groceries, as well as taking the mail to Atarau — Adjourned sine die. ... Neil Louis Bruhn, butcher and grocer was appealed for by Adoli r • H Bruhn (Mr Jamieson). The residents he was now serving, some ot them seven miles distant, would be without a butcher, baker and grocer if his son, the only one now at home

were taken.— Adjourned sine die. • James Allen, shop assistant ana | fireman, appealed for by Abbie and j Damage and the Cobden Volunteer Fire Brigade (Mr Jamieson). Mr Ramage stated that Allen worked as a salesman and delivery man, as well as carting heavy stores from Greymouth.—Adjourned sine die. Cecil Ray Wylde (Mr Jamieson) o-arage proprietor, appealed on his own behalf. He had six buses and I was engaged in the transport of miners; dhieflyj To .Strongman tend James mines. He also had a service station. There was no other tianscert for men out from Runanga station. The additional bus which he iiad acquired was necessitated by an increase in the number of miners — Adjourned sine die. At the afternoon sitting the board dealt with appeals as follows (names of those lodging appeals i, n parenthesis): — ' I Alexander Joseph Greaney, I”} 0- I tvpe operator, and John Henry Min- ' chin, linotype operator (Grey Buyer Argus Co., represented by Mr Tay-1 ior). Mr N. V. Lovell, manager of I rhe company, said that it would be impossible to carry on without Greaney and Minchin. It was impossible to get staff to-day. Adjourned sine die. . Frederick Charles Lindbom. hardware salesman (Griffin and Smith, Ltd., and Cobden Fire Brigade) Mr T W. Hannan was counsel. Mr J. H. North, manager of the company, said that the hardware staff was reduc'd to himself, reservist, on e female and an office boy. Witness had to ffive his attention to other branches Tn Hokitika and Westport, .leaving reservist to manage m Greymouth —Adjourned sine die. Maurice Doolan, farmer (reserc!st) Appellant stated that he had 200 lambs and at present milked 25 cows, with 25 to come in. He had been an the farm seven years. His onlv assistant was his son, aged 15. r ie had six acres of oats in and 10 "icres of rape. Mr Shapcott said the i-npeal was supported by the Primary Production Council.— Adjourned sine die 'rhe chairman said that in these eases farmers should furnish returns from the cows in the previous year. ' George Henry Banks, butcher (Edward Gamble, 'represented by Mr Hannan). Mr Gamble gave evidence concerning his butchery at Stillwater. where he said the reservist did 60 hours’ work a week. Reser- ( vist was Grade I and married with two children.— Adojurned sine die. Cvril C. O’Leary, farmer (reservist, represented by Mr T. E. Coates) 1 Appellant said that his farmiwas 320 a/res He was milking 16 cows. Last season he milked eight. There were 120 breeding ewes, and also dry •stock Mr Shapcott said that a report ‘from the Primary Production

Council said that the property was well farmed—Adjourned sine die, John James Skeats, joiner (Iris Skeats and Sotheran’s Ltd-). Mr Coates represented Mrs Skeats and Mr A. M Jamie--nn So‘hmT n ’s Ltd,

Mr T. Sotheran stated that his company had been enraged oh esseni-ai work. ,Mr Shapcott said that the Building Committee had assured the I board that joiners were in short sup- ; ply. The appeal by Sotheran’s ’Ltd- < was adjourned till the end of Febi ruary for review. The appeal by ' Mrs Skeats was held over in tho meantime.

! J’ames Soverin Olsen, butcher (rei servist. represented by Mr A. M. Jamieson). Appeallant said that if : t was necessary for him to close the I people of the Blaketown-Preston I Road district would be without a butcher’s shop. He handled three earcases of beef, nine sheep and one pig a week. Reservist said that lrwas a member of the Butchers’ Sup-

ply Committee. —Adjourned sine die Eric Ronald Bradley, soldier in camp (appeal on grounds of undue /hardship by Daphne Bradley against I overseas service). Mrs Bradley said : that she was in bad health. She : might have to be rushed to hospital I and she wished to be able to teleI graph her husband to come and take / charge of the home and three .infant children. Her husband was 29 years of age.—Reservist not to be required to go overseas, decision subject to review at. any time. Edward Basil McNabb,- National j Reservist (appeal by reservist ana 1 Director against 'overseas service). I Reservist said that he was a volun- ! leer member of the 17th Independent ■ Infantry Company at Hokitika. He based his appeal on the medical ■ condition of his wife and daughter, i .-Reservist not to go overseas, de--1 vision subject to review at any time. I Robert David Green, farmer (reser- | vist, represented by Mr W. D. laylo r ) Reservist said he had a farm at Totara Flat of 700 acres. In addition he was cutting timber for mines. H’s wife was not in good health ana could not carry on the farm.—Adjourned for three months for review. The chairman said that reserv.st would then be expected to produce records of the timber cut and the results from the milking cows A.. P. Crowe, Joseph Oswald PfabRrt, Leonard Hugh Lee, William David Clark, lorry drivers (Westland ! Transport Co., represented by Mr j Hannan). Mr J. M. Eadie, manager, I said that the reservists were engag--Icd in the transport of timber and 1 similar essential work. The company 1 had ’only eight drivers on the road ' to-dav. ’ It could not carry on with j fewer men. The normal number, when men were not off,- was twelve - All adjourned sine die. John Joseph Fisher, farmer and butcher (William Fisher, represented by Mr Tavlor). W. Fisher said that one son had gone into camp, and another was on the butcher's, cart on the road. The reservist did a

gr-at part of the work on the tarm, and if he went into camp it would have to be sold. Mr Shapcott said that the Primary Production Council supported the appeal.—Adjourned sine die. Cedric J'ohn G. Barrett, farmer (reservist, represented by Mr Coates). Reservist said that on his farm, totailing 1800 acres, at Kotuku, there were 45 dair>' cows, 70 head ot cattle and pigs. The land was second class and required a good deal of work. Mr Shapcott said that theappeal was supported by th e Primary Production Council.—Adjourned sine die. ■ , , Joseph McEwan Burt, farm hand, appealed on the grounds of public interest, undue hardship and conscientious objection. D. Burt lodged an appeal on ths- first two of these grounds. Reservist gave evidence on afiirma-

tion. . , Mr Shapcott said that reservist was Grade HI and the appeal on the of public interest and hard•ffiip had been adjourned on medical trading. The Army now wished the conscience appeal to be determined. Reservist stated that he was associated with the- “Open Brethren, ’ and quoted Scriptures to support his position. He said that he took no part in worldlv affairs, did not vote or belong to anv organisation. The whole of the New Testament was against violence. He was willing to gfvp non-combatant service if this could be done without taking an oath, or violating other principles. Members of the Brethren exercised their individual conscience in the matter of military service. While on north his only concern was to earn a living honestly. Asked by Mr Shapcott whether he would noP raise a hand to defend the social system, witness said that he knew from the Scriptures what his; .action should ne. He could not answer for what he would do in the future. He might Nil to.do what he should do, but if he was sworn to service- he was -not free to do what he considered right. — The appeal was allowed. Percy Kevin Cornish, farm labourer (Elizabeth Cornish). —Reservist to be released from camp sine die.