THE CASUALTY LISTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 9955, 26 April 1918, Page 4

THE CASUALTY LISTS

PREPARING THE NEWS FOR THE PUBLIC.

In view of the misapprehension which appears to exist in some quarters concerning the publication of. casualties in the press, the Defence authorities deem it desirable again to set but the system which has been in force for over, twelve months. The official casualty lists contain the information submitted by the Imperial authorities, and as this goes through several channels before being cabled to the Base Records Office here the lists are not received until about two or three weeks after the date of thecasualty. In addition to this information, the Defence Minister has arranged that wherever possible a cabled notification shall be received as spon as a. wounded soldier reaches a hospital in England or France, with particulars of the nature of the wounds. This information is usually received ■within a few days of the soldier’s arrival in hospital, and, in addition to being immediately" notified to- the next-of-kin appears in the hospital and pro-' gress reports, which are issued to the press twice daily when necessary with the casualty lists by Base Records. During the present offensive fully 75 per cent, of the soldiers admitted to hospitals in France and the United Kingdom have been first reported under the hospital reports, and this accounts for a soldier’s name appearing twice- —first bn a hospital list and ‘later on the official casualty lists. When no hospital report has been received before the official casualty a soldier can often only bo notified to next-of-kin as “wounded” instead of more ’detailed information being available, as is the case with a hospital notification. Except in minor cases of wounds, which often do not necessitate a soldier being sent to hospital, the do-, tailed information is nearly blwayi supplied within a few days. The instructions are that notifications must always bo classified as: (a) dangerous; (b) serious, or (c) wounded, which means that all notifications under category “C” need not cause next-of-kin any undue -anxiety, as any change' in condition to the “dangerous” or “serious” list is immediately notified by cable to Base Records; who in turn telegraph this information on receipt, to tho next-of-kin. Every casualty list as received is at once dealt with, and the notifications sent by ■ urgent tele-, gram to. next-of-kin, and arrangements are in force at Base Records under which any casualty cables received before 8 p.m. axe always dealt with and the next-of-kin telegrams deposited with the G.P.O. before the casualty >-,taff , ceases. work.

On a recent Sunday during the pro scut offensive .1400 casualty reports were received unexpectedly at Bass. Records at 10 a.m., an emergency staff was collected, and the next-of-kin telegrams lodged in the G.P.O. by 9 p.m.