NEW ZEALAND BASE RECORDS

Mt Benger Mail, 10 September 1941, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND BASE RECORDS

MECHANISM ASSURES SPEEDY ACCURACY

Three hundred of a staff in a three-storied warehouse, equipped with the most, modern mechanical aids to accountancy and recording, form the New Zealand Base Records in Wellington, where set down in black and white is the individual history of the men of the Dominions army, and the accounts covering the financial operations associated With their war service. , As soon as the soldier enters camp he is given a regimental number which remains unchanged throughout his service. He must make an allotment of his daily pay ; the minimum in the case of a private is 4/6 a day. If there is no relative or trustee nominated by him to receive the allotment, it is paid into an account in the Post Office Savings Bank opened in his name. If he is married, he furnishes the information to ensure that his wife will receive the separation allowances promptly. He may give instructions for certain payments to be made regularly on his behalf for such things as insurance. He either makes a will or discloses where his will is deoosited—the old system of the pay-book will has been discarded. The modern soldier receives his pay in the field regularly. No -natter how small the unit, provision is made through the Field Paymasters for the soldier to receive cash. Base Records acts as his accountant and his agent, and in view of the number of men concerned with the variety of transactions involved in each case, it is not difficult to appreciate the magnitude of staff’s work. | Allotment warrants to over 60,000 people are made every fortnight. Machines do practically the whole of the work. The foundation is in zinc plates on which are embossed the individual instructions—the name of the soldier, the amount, the name and address of the person to whom the --■'-ment is to be made —and once these are checked as correct, error is avoided. In the last war it took a month to prepare the warrants with typewriters; to-day the same operation occupies little more than a day. The zinc plates govern a machine which does all the calculating, prints the warrant, numbers it, and then affixes the signature of the authorising officer before ring the completed document for folding with the address outside. At the same time it records the transactions and after each twelve the naper is out so that the statements can be bound in handy sized books. Adding machines find the totals for individual offices and for various interested departments. These warrants will return after having been ’■•aid by the post offices, and they will be reehecked before the transaction is completed. Remittances are cabled over, seas through Base Records which results in a substantial saving to friends and relatives. Casualty reports are dealt with by a special staff. First a notification is prepared for the Minister of Defence who transmits it to the next-of-kin, care being taken that the next-of-kin shall be the first to receive the official information—carefully checked—and it is a known fact that special care is taken with the delivery of the messages to minimise the effect when the news is uu-

idnd. Subsequently the next-of-kin receives complete information concerning claims and adjustments and the procedure for sending •■-reels and messages in the case of prisoners of war. Base Records is on duty 7 days in the week with a “watch” day and night to deal with urgent matters.

Personal files, containing the service record of every man, are kept un-to-date as information comes from overseas or from mobilisation camps regarding promotions affecting the individual. In all camps routine orders are issued daily and copies of all of them—whether issued in the Dominion or overseas, arc received at Base Records and information affecting soldiers is extractel for entry on each file. At the control point the daily average turnover of outward documents is over 5000 and inward letters average up to 2000, A Discharged Soldiers’ section deals with oil matters relating to

the rights and privileges of the soldier released from the forces, and the he~ to he given him to make a fresh start in civilian life. Base Records is the soldier’s friend as well as his agent, historian, and accountant. :