MISSING SOLDIERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26544, 20 August 1947, Page 8

MISSING SOLDIERS

PRESUMPTION OF DEATH government action urged Parliamentary Reporter WELLINGTON, Aug. 19. The desirability of issuing presumptions of death in the of servicemen still classified as missing so that their estates could be wound up was stressed by Mr W. A. Shea PP -' Patea) during consideiation of ine Births and Deaths Registration Bill m the House of Representatives to-day. He said that there had been no finality reached in a number of cases of seivicemen missing since comparatively early in the war. . Mr Sheat related the case of a man missing since Crete and in respect to whom there'had been no presumption of death. He said he understood that there were several other cases of a similar nature. The result was that no finality could be reached in winding up their estates. He had written to tiie Minister of Defence about the paiticular case he was interested in, and the Minister had replied that there was no evidence that these men, classifie 1 as missing, were alive, nor was there any evidence whatever upon whnm their death could be presumed Mr Sheat said he thought sufficient time had elapsed since the fighting in Greece and Crete and the subsequent liberation of those countries for finality to be reached. The delay was causing concern to the relatives responsible for the estates of these men, and from all points of view it was desirable that the estates should be wound up. The Bill was passed.