PROMISES TO SOLDIERS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 78, 11 March 1943, Page 3

PROMISES TO SOLDIERS

DISSATISFACTION WITH FULFILMENTS DISCUSSION BY RETURNED SERVICES’ ASSOCIATION A report submitted by former members of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force to the executive of the Christchurch Returned Services’ Association said that neurosis cases returning from the present war were not receiving the consideration they deserved.

Archdeacon A. J Petrie said that Archbishop West-Watson had appointed a committee, which included two doctors, to act in conjunction with the association. It was anxious to back up any work that was being attempted by the association.

Mr E. Orchard said that dissatisfaction was very marked among men returning to New Zealand. It seemed that before going away they had been promised everything, but on their return they found themselves “properly up against it.” Plenty of promises had been made, and there was plenty of money with which to carry on the war, but on their return men found little awaiting them. It was the duty of the executive committee to provide comforts for returned men.

Archdeacon Petrie said he had received a letter from the Akaroa branch of the association saying that after coming from Akaroa a mother had been denied permission to see her son who was in hospital. He had interviewed Dr A. D. Nelson, Medical Superintendent of the Christchurch Public Hospital, who had said that returned men going into hospital were immediately classed as civilians and treated as such. Archdeacon Petrie considered that returned men while in hospital should be in “the old hospital blue” and should be in a separate military hospital. He suggested that all the associations act in unison in sending a recommendation to Wellington. Mr J. K. Moloney said it was the very thing he had suggested at a previous meeting when he had asked that the matter of providing a military hospital be taken up with Cabinet. The secretary (Mr E. F. Willcox) said that men were not discharged until 28 days after their return, and in replying to Archdeacon Petrie's allegations, he said that if the right authority had been approached in the first place there would have been no trouble in a visitor seeing her son in hospital. Apparently she had asked one of the attendants, who had no authority to grant permission. Had one of the officials been approached there would, he thought, have been little difficulty.